what a great leader elected on keeping those tariffs ...

elbows up ..

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politi...s-continue-9.6876782

Carney ends most counter-tariffs as Trump trade talks continue
Updated5 hours ago
Prime minister says Canada will remove all tariffs on CUSMA-compliant U.S. goods by Sept. 1

The Latest

Carney will maintain tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos as the Liberal government continues negotiations with the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump commended the tariff removal, calling it "nice" and saying he wanted to "be good to Canada."
Trump raised tariffs on some Canadian goods to 35 per cent on Aug. 1.
The Trump administration had said Canada's rate was being hiked in response to fentanyl trafficking and Canada's earlier decision to hit back with counter-tariffs.
Business groups reacted positively, though some appear to have been surprised by the news.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Carney is "showing weakness" by making concessions to the U.S.

We're wrapping up our live coverage of today's trade developments.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced around noon that he would be lifting most of the country's retaliatory tariffs with the U.S. This follows a phone call he had with U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday.

Trump said the call was "very good" and that he liked Carney.

Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Carney’s move made him seem weak after having made other concessions to the U.S.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who is often aligned with Poilievre, welcomed the decision, as did former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole. But Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants retaliation if a deal isn’t struck soon.

Business groups also welcomed the news with some hesitation, saying they were searching for stability amid the ongoing trade war.

If you want more details, you can scroll down to see how it all unfolded.

Danielle Smith supports Carney’s move

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods primarily hurt Canadian citizens and businesses.

She said she supports Carney’s decision.

“I remain convinced that the path to a positive resolution with our U.S. partners lies in strong, consistent diplomacy and a commitment to working in good faith toward shared priorities, rather than angry rhetoric and retaliation,” Smith said in a post on X.

Alberta’s oil exports to the U.S. have escaped tariffs throughout the trade war, a fact that has put Smith at odds with premiers from other provinces whose economies have been hurt by steel, aluminum and auto tariffs, notably Ontario and Quebec.

“I urge the federal government to continue negotiating to resolve the remaining tariff issues and restore a free and fair trade agreement with the United States,” Smith said, while using the rest of her post to repeat her calls for Ottawa to scrap policies that she believes hamper Alberta’s energy sector.

An estimated $4T over a decade for the U.S. Treasury
John Paul Tasker

According to estimates from the Peterson Institute, as of June, Trump's tariffs have generated some $94 billion US in revenue. The U.S. government pulled in $29.6 billion US in July alone, according to Treasury Department figures.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is Trump's tariffs czar, is projecting about $50 billion US in revenue for the month of August.

Trump was jubilant about the Congressional Budget Office's report earlier today that found, if the tariffs stay in place for the next 10 years, the government will generate some $3.3 trillion US in revenue and save about $0.7 trillion US in borrowing costs.

That will help chip away at the country's eye-popping national debt, which is about $37 trillion US and counting.

But the CBO, which is a non-partisan arm of Congress, said its figures are "subject to significant uncertainty" because there are "a lack of precedents" to what Trump is doing here.

Those figures also don't take into account the possibility — perhaps even the likelihood — that some U.S. businesses will fail under the weight of these tariffs, which could lead to less revenue from corporate and income taxes from businesses and the workers they employ.

Trump’s tariffs paid by U.S. companies, and consumers
John Paul Tasker

While Trump has talked a lot about using his tariffs to revive U.S. manufacturing and punish countries for drugs and migrants and the like, he also from time to time speaks about their potential as a revenue-generating tool.

Trump frames it as if foreigners will pay, which isn't true. U.S. importers generally pay tariffs to the U.S. government when they bring in products from Canada or elsewhere.

This morning, I wrote about how some American small- and medium-sized businesses are being crushed by these added costs.

They're being crushed because these companies have shelled out a lot of cash to the feds already — and it's only expected to grow in the coming months as higher rates take effect.

Of course, consumers are often the ones that foot the bill in the end because many companies pass them on through higher prices.


Move ‘enables more U.S. aggression’: Unifor

Lana Payne, the president of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, is criticizing Carney’s shift on counter-tariffs.

“Trump's attacks on auto, steel, aluminum and forestry sectors are hurting Canadian workers in real time,” Payne said in a post on X.

“Walking back counter-tariffs isn’t an olive branch. It only enables more U.S. aggression.”

Payne, who has served on the Prime Minister’s Council on Canada-U.S. Relations, an advisory group of about 20 business, trade and policy experts, says Canada must use its leverage.

“We should not give it away unless the U.S. also drops all punitive tariffs. Backing down with concessions is not an option,” she said.

Poilievre wouldn’t say if he supports lifting some tariffs

Poilievre had plenty of criticisms for the Liberal government’s handling of the trade war, but he was mum on whether he endorsed the removal of some counter-tariffs.

The Conservative leader said he would have negotiated from a “position of strength” and “only put in counter-measures that were sustainable and legally defensible.”

He went on to claim that, as prime minister, he would have negotiated a trade deal that eliminated all tariffs from both countries.

But that might be wishful thinking. All of Trump’s trade agreements to this point have included some tariffs, leading Carney to say in July any deal would likely come with some tariffs attached.


'Elbows mysteriously gone missing'

Now in English, Poilievre has called the removal of the tariffs "another capitulation and climb down by Mark Carney."

The Conservative leader also had an elbows reference today, saying Carney's "elbows have mysteriously gone missing."

Poilievre listed other U.S.-related policies the prime minister has backed down on, including that he would impose "dollar-for-dollar" tariffs on the U.S. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is in favour of that measure, while most premiers and experts agreed it would only further hurt Canadian businesses.

Poilievre also said the digital services tax was a "terrible tax" but that Carney should have gotten something from Trump in return for backing down on it.

"Today, he removed even almost all the tariffs on the United States and got none lifted for Canada," Poilievre said.
6 hours ago
Verity Stevenson

Poilievre has proceeded to eviscerate Carney.

"He continues to make concessions without any gains," Poilievre said, still speaking French, referring to today's announcement ending most counter-tariffs.

"He is showing extraordinary weakness."

The Conservative leader says a record amount of money has left the country in Carney's five months in office and that the prime minister has failed to deliver on his promise to end the trade war with the U.S.
6 hours ago
Poilievre is speaking
Verity Stevenson
Man in suit and tie speaking at a podium with a Canadian maple leaf logo and a Canadian flag in the distance.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a news conference in Surrey, B.C., on Wednesday. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press)

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is starting his remarks in French.

This is one of the leader's first news conferences since winning back a seat in Parliament in the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot.

He says he wants to offer positive solutions to the trade war.

"I want [Carney] to steal my ideas," Poilievre said, adding he wants to work with other party leaders on a Canada Sovereignty Act.

He said he's offered several times to advise the government on its trade negotiations with the U.S.

"We will pass judgment however on Mr. Carney's decisions," said Poilievre. "Now is the time to judge his performance."

No tariffs should have ever been imposed by Canada. Tariffs are an attack on your own population. Instead, export restrictions should have been placed on Canadian goods, just like the US has on goods being exported into Canada. Intense efforts should be undertaken to find alternative markets and alternative sources for goods. The goal should be permanent independence. Let Trump and his followers tout the economic benefits of tariffs. Canadians don't have to match that stupidity.
Mark Carney will soon abandon virtually every policy he ran on, since many were Conservative policies anyway. The people who supported Mark Carney and the Liberals are anti-patriots. They are advocates for the status quo, where the west supports the east and the elitists run the country.
Carney was a Trump ass-kisser before the election; it should come as no surprise when he looks south and puckers up now. Bill