cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24657192

Summary

In a virtual speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump suggested Canada could become a U.S. state to avoid his proposed tariffs on imports.

The remark elicited gasps from the audience.

Trump claimed the U.S. does not need Canadian lumber, energy, or vehicles, vastly overstating the trade deficit between the two nations.

He reiterated his intention to impose tariffs, potentially as high as 25%, on imports from Canada and Mexico starting February 1.

Economists warn such tariffs would raise prices for U.S. consumers.

  • LovableSidekick@lemmy.world
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    1 hour ago

    <sigh> Four more years of this shit. But oh well, it’s worth it if it spared a few people of superior moral integrity from compromising their principles to vote for Harris when she didn’t measure up to their requirements and the Democrats didn’t run a good enough campaign and besides it was kind of cold that day and it would have meant putting on pants.

    • UltraGiGaGigantic
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      6 minutes ago

      Why are you okay with your fellow Americans being unrepresented in the voting booth?

      Are you working to replace First past the post voting in your state? People should be free to vote for those they deem best, while still counting their vote against those they don’t want in office.

      We don’t need to wait for a miracle from congress. How we vote us controlled at the state level. Alaska has already done away with FPTP voting. Republicans were so upset that Ranked Choice voting kept Sarah Palin out of office they offered up a referendum to go back to FPTP voting. The people of Alaska voted to keep it

      Why do you want to use the same voting system republicans prefer? Do you support democracy? Or do you get off on telling people how to vote?

      Videos on alternative voting systems

      First Past The Post voting (What most states use now)

      Videos on alternative electoral systems we can try out.

      STAR voting

      Alternative vote

      Ranked Choice voting

      Range Voting

      Single Transferable Vote

      Mixed Member Proportional representation

      • LovableSidekick@lemmy.world
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        21 seconds ago

        Feel free to express (and explain) your opinion that some people are unrepresented, but why are you okay with pretending that’s my opinion and asking me to defend it? Millions of people who voted for Biden in 2020 refused to vote at all in 2024 because the Democratic Party hadn’t given them a candidate they liked. More than enough to defeat Trump, but that wasn’t important enough for them to step off their moral high ground, and now here we are.

  • sircac@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    Why people keep listening to what that being says? Just respond to his actions, anthing else is useless…

    • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      I somewhat agree with your point but after years of him saying he would do fucked up shit and then him doing a lot of it, it helps to be prepared for his intentions as they manifest into actions in many cases.

      • sircac@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        My point goes mostly to international leaders or representative people that over-react to his words and then the media look to amplify it by doing it a “new”: part of his strategy is this shit bombing upon saturation, so it buffers a space of allowance of shit actions in the public opinion that otherwise would have suffered of even more rejection if done without this probing, confusing and dragging resources in the meantime to attend this… which in the end will not matter how are they answered, prevented or reacted, he will push anyway in that direction, so I would give zero weight to all that diarrhea, shit will come willing it or not since he has the power to do it, accepting any kind of conversation with someone like that is playing a rigged game and lose terrain… why accept his ability to an exchange of opinion in the first place? why respond/listen to him? He behaves like the strongest bully, the corresponding treatment is required… join on isolating him, he will not make it easy though. This is my opinion…

  • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
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    9 hours ago

    There is no actual fentanyl or immigration basis for tariffs on Canada. Just submit to less representation than California, and help absorb large US debt with little in return for it.

    • Grapho
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      5 hours ago

      There’s no basis for tariffs on Mexico either.

      • 小莱卡@lemmygrad.ml
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        2 hours ago

        Really there is no basis for any tariffs, the richest nation in the world putting tariffs on other nations products because they can’t keep up is embarrassing.

  • Spacehooks@reddthat.com
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    11 hours ago

    Us citizens pay tariff this doesn’t hurt Canadians. They should call bluff and say do 30%.

    • ikidd@lemmy.world
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      29 minutes ago

      Canada will absorb most of the extra cost if we want to sell product to the US.

    • Revan343@lemmy.ca
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      4 hours ago

      It potentially reduces exports from Canada to the US, hurting our economy. Nobody wins

      • bstix@feddit.dk
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        3 hours ago

        Canada imports more from USA than it exports to USA. A trade war that decreases exports would hurt USA more than Canada.

        The largest exports from USA to Canada are cars and trucks. (Finished products) The largest exports from Canada to USA are minerals, fuels and pulp. (Raw material)

        This puts USA at a disadvantage in a tariff game, because it’s a lot easier for Canada to replace American cars with Asian or European cars, than it is for USA to replace the variety of ressources that Canada provides

        It’s also a lot easier for Canada to find other customers for raw materials than it is to sell American cars on other continents.

        • 小莱卡@lemmygrad.ml
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          2 hours ago

          We’ll have to analyze more deeply but it is very likely that these exports to Canada are actually coming from México.

    • Banana@sh.itjust.works
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      3 hours ago

      We have a lot of resources. Ya our shit will get more expensive, but he’s gonna fuck his own country doing this. Canada will survive.

      • Spacehooks@reddthat.com
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        5 hours ago

        Well according to wiki you are right. I was on ever taught tax on imports in school. Taxing exports only works of there is one possible vendor and if there is not then the competition will just has to charge slightly less while expanding production.

        Imagine if China , EU, and or japan be like here is 10% discount. Or better yet Trade alliance among countries who Trump charges on exports would be hillarious.

        • 小莱卡@lemmygrad.ml
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          2 hours ago

          Or better yet Trade alliance among countries who Trump charges on exports would be hillarious.

          This is exactly what is happening, its the main reason of the rise of BRICS.

  • lorty@lemmygrad.ml
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    4 hours ago

    I personally think this is bravado to negotiate something more realistic, although if he really wanted to it’s unlikely Canada would resist.

  • HiddenLayer555
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    16 hours ago

    As a Canadian, fuck you Trump. Canada will never be a US state. Not sorry.

  • ToadOfHypnosis
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    16 hours ago

    Trump seems to have the goal of destroying the US from all I can tell. Our economy and power are so dependent on our connections to the rest of the world and he is burning them all down. The US dollar gets replaced as the fiat currency we are wholly fucked and this dumb shit is how that happens.

    • octopus_ink
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      12 hours ago

      And the last gasp of our conservatives as the final pillar of the whitehouse collapses into a flaming wreck due to Trumps ridiculous toddler-like mismanagement of everything will be to blame it all on the Democrats.

    • Hafler@lemm.ee
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      15 hours ago

      Somehow, even with conservatives owning all the branches of government, it will be the Dem’s fault.

        • Hafler@lemm.ee
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          8 minutes ago

          Hard to prevent when you are trying to get in front of the flood of dumb things being put out right now.

      • SovietyWoomy [any]@hexbear.net
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        13 hours ago

        If Trump is serious about this it will be bipartisan by 2028 just like all the 2016 Trump policies that were bipartisan by 2020

      • ToadOfHypnosis
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        15 hours ago

        LGBTQ+ and immigrant fear can convince conservatives of about anything.

      • coyootje@lemmy.world
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        15 hours ago

        And they’ll even say sorry for it because they consider it “impolite” and “not done” to talk back to the sitting government or some shit.

    • Ænima@lemm.ee
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      12 hours ago

      That’s the point, I think, as well. I could see Putin using the useful idiot to destroy the primary rival to its superiority. The US is incredibly difficult to invade. The intelligence apparatus is too ingrained in all our communication to avoid detection. If you can’t get the rot to start from the outside, go for the inside.

      • nohaybanda [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        10 hours ago

        Damn these Russians making the US into warmongers. After all, stealing land is a completely foreign concept in America

    • FuckyWucky [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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      14 hours ago

      When Dollar is replaced as the reserve currency, America’s imports will shrink and there may be inflation. But it won’t result it in defaulting on its domestic currency.

      Any austerity on the US will be self-inflicted (as it is in the UK and Europe). The unwillingness of the US Government to take over the economy from the parasites will make things much worse.

      • ToadOfHypnosis
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        15 hours ago

        If America is forced to accept austerity measures over our massive debt when the dollar is no longer fiat, regular people will be the ones who suffer sadly.

        • As long as the US dollar has maintained and will maintain its supremacy, regular people suffer all over the world for the comfort of treatlerites in the imperial core.

          I’d rather the dollar crash so that the world has a chance.

  • تحريرها كلها ممكن
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    11 hours ago

    Canada’s economy is dependent on the US. Trump might actually pull this off.

    Edit: More context since people are downvoting. Consider the following now picture yourself one of the greedy capitalists in Canada, which is a preferred outcome? Losing your wealth or losing Canadian sovereignty?

    Just because I think it is likely doesn’t mean that I think it’s right. This is clearly wrong.

    • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
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      9 hours ago

      Canada’s oligarchs like the fact that only Israel and US is allowed to compete with them, and elections are cheaper to buy. A single state makes them lose power. Population understands only negatives from US, and also would not vote for Trump.

      Unfortunately for Canadians, they are still programmed to side with US over China and Russia, and that programming makes it a blasphemy to seek independence that would also protect them from the US. As long as Canada’s position is to beg to restore its fully subservient colonial status, then the Trump extortion will continue.

      One goal that Musk would have behind this is that it can destroy the big 3 automakers.

    • Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca
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      10 hours ago

      Canada is also America’s largest trading partner.

      America had $357 billion dollars worth of imports from Canada in 2023, if they introduce a 25% tarriff Americans will pay $446 billion instead because it’s not like you’ll get all that stuff anywhere else for cheaper since America is going to put tariffs on practically every other country they trade with apparently.

      Corporations spend billions on the current infrastructure and trade routes and logistics, they will not uproot everything and go through the pains of firing everyone then moving to America and retraining because of a short term loss. American administrations are fickle, many of them will simply wait out the 4 years hoping it will return to normal then. If it doesn’t then maybe they might consider it then but for the next 4 years Americans are going to be paying a shitload more for anything that’s not made in America.

      American businesses will also find it a lot more difficult to sell their products out of the country when those countries retaliate with tarriffs against them.

  • coolusername
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    15 hours ago

    rip you guys are gonna get couped
    imperialism is manifesting itself in the imperial core

    • octopus_ink
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      12 hours ago

      rip you guys are gonna get couped

      Seems to me we got couped. It was just mostly domestically bloodless. So far.

        • “People are surprised, they become indignant. They say: “How strange! But never mind-it’s Nazism, it will pass!” And they wait, and they hope; and they hide the truth from themselves, that it is barbarism, but the supreme barbarism, the crowning barbarism that sums up all the daily barbarisms; that it is Nazism, yes, but that before they were its victims, they were its accomplices; that they tolerated that Nazism before it was inflicted on them, that they absolved it, shut their eyes to it, legitimized it, because, until then, it had been applied only to non-European peoples; that they have cultivated that Nazism, that they are responsible for it, and that before engulfing the whole of Western, Christian civilization in its reddened waters, it oozes, seeps, and trickles from every crack.”

          • Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism
    • Lumiluz@slrpnk.net
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      14 hours ago

      Canada is one of the few countries that has actually defeated the USA. They even burned the white house.

      • menemen
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        14 hours ago

        They did that to halve of this world, just not to that many western countries.

    • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      Don’t act like Canada hasn’t been seeing it’s own share of right wing extremists making their way into government.

      • Alsephina
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        15 hours ago

        Yeah no need for a coup really. Without a revolution Canada is gonna be part of this new axis on its own.

    • coyootje@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      Do you really think it’s likely this will happen? I think hell just start throwing a tantrum and maybe symbolically apply some tariffs.

      • تحريرها كلها ممكن
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        12 hours ago

        Yes it is likely. Canada can’t afford to resist. Canada is highly dependent on trade with the US.

        Just because I think it is likely doesn’t mean that I think it’s right. This is clearly wrong.

  • davelA
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    17 hours ago

    Trump is going to speedrun all our vassals allies into joining BRICS, and I’m here for it.

  • llothar
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    15 hours ago

    American anschluss of Canada to expand their lebensraum, because they feel they deserve it.

    Musk does not hide how he feels about it, we wouldn’t either.