{"id":81217,"date":"2024-03-06T10:25:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T11:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=81217"},"modified":"2024-11-11T13:32:35","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T13:32:35","slug":"trump-america-first-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=81217","title":{"rendered":"Trump could bring back “America First”. What could happen to Canada’s natural resource exports?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the passing of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was reported, we thought back to his ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question now is: If Donald Trump becomes the next President of the U.S., what happens to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of 2020? The USMCA came after Trump threatened to pull out of NAFTA in 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States recently overturned a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court that barred Trump from appearing on the ballot during the 2024 presidential election, clearing a major obstacle in his goal of once again winning the presidency in November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Trump does win again in November, stand by for round two of the \u201cAmerica First\u201d campaign of his first term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter decades of the status quo, President Trump has made it clear that Americans will no longer take back seat to the rest of the world,\u201d said Ken Farnaso, who was a deputy national press secretary during Trump’s ultimately unsuccessful 2020 re-election campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So prepare, for starters, for a 10 percent tariff on imports into the U.S. \u2014 and Canada is the second largest source<\/a> of those imports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s promised tariffs would hammer Canadian exports to the U.S. In 2021 (the latest figures we see), those exports were worth $355 billion, including oil ($78.8 billion), automobiles ($26.4 billion), and natural gas ($13.4 billion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would Trump do about increased exports of Canadian oil to the U.S. through the Trans Mountain Expansion Project? What about our natural-gas exports, which have helped the U.S. become the world\u2019s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And a Trump presidency would undoubtedly mean more trouble for Canada\u2019s forestry sector. It has long been fighting \u201centirely unwarranted,\u201d  U.S. tariffs on our softwood lumber \u2014 and now has been told that America will soon boost<\/a> the border-crossing charges to 13.86 percent, up from 8.05 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Under the U.S. Tariff Act, the Department of Commerce determines whether goods are being sold at less than fair value or if they’re benefiting from subsidies provided by foreign governments. U.S. producers insist that provincial stumpage fees are so low as to amount to an unfair subsidy.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on foreign affairs, note Trump\u2019s tough promise for China<\/a>: tariffs of 60 percent or higher on imported Chinese goods.  And, he has added, \u201cMaybe it\u2019s going to be more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This comes after the trade war he triggered during his first term as president when he imposed $250 billion in China tariffs. That disrupted the global economy, hammered consumers, and hit stock markets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. stock-market watchers have shuddered at this new promise. Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign for the Republican nomination on Wednesday morning, has said: \u201cWhat Donald Trump\u2019s about to do, is he\u2019s going to raise every (American) household\u2019s expenses by $2,600 a year.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has said nothing about current U.S.-Canada relations, but has in the past<\/a> declared: <\/p>\n\n\n\n