Canada is far from being out of the woods despite the decision of the American Supreme Court which served as a slap in the face to Donald Trump by ruling that a large part of its tariffs were illegal.
This historic decision which has put Trump in all his turmoil is in no way aimed at the tariffs which affect us most directly.
“US tariffs on steel, aluminum, lumber and other key sectors [comme l’automobile] remain in place and continue to weaken our industries, our jobs and our regions,” argued Quebec Minister of the Economy, Jean Boulet.
Canadian exports, in addition to these sectors and unlike most other countries, are exempt from customs duties thanks to our free trade agreement, CUSMA, which is still in force.
However, this agreement must be revised this year, and the negotiations promise to be tense between Ottawa and Washington.
The Carney government also remained cautious and did not boast after the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States.
At most, the Minister of Finance, François-Philippe Champagne, indicated that the invalidation of the tariffs proves that Canada’s position, outraged by these customs duties, was “justified”.
A lack of “courage”
Rarely have we seen Donald Trump so shaken and angry, commenting on the judgment of the American Supreme Court, insulting the judges who made this decision, calling them “garbage”.
The judgment is all the more surprising given that the court is made up of predominantly conservative magistrates.
Six of the nine justices overturned tariffs against the United States’ trading partners, including three progressives. But the moderate conservative John Roberts as well as Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, chosen by Donald Trump himself during his first term (2017-2021), also rejected it.
“I am ashamed for certain members of the Court, totally ashamed, because they did not have the courage to do what was good for our country,” he said, visibly agitated behind the desk in the White House press room.
Failures are piling up for Donald Trump in this year of midterm elections, which will take place in the fall.
His rather popular policy on immigration turned against him because of the excesses of the immigration police who coldly shot dead two people at the start of the year in Minneapolis.
Earlier this week, the House of Representatives, although controlled by Republicans, adopted a resolution aimed at canceling the tariffs imposed on Canada.
The vote, supported by six Republicans, does not have the force of law, but the message to the president is clear: his trade policy is not unanimous and some in his clan are now ready to stand up to him.
More powerful mechanisms
Despite his most recent setback, Trump was no slouch. He promised to use other “even more powerful” mechanisms to impose a global global tax of 10%.
But another basket of crabs began to open up before the president. With this victory in court, American companies now want to recover the money from the tariffs they have had to pay to the tune of $180 billion since they were put into effect last year.
Ottawa has since undertaken efforts to reduce our dependence on the American market.
Efforts which will continue at full steam, because clearly, despite the setback, Donald Trump has no intention of giving up.
It could even become even more aggressive and unpredictable in the months leading up to the November midterm elections.
