Trade Issues or Just Issues

 

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The biggest irritant in the whole process is in no way trade issues – it is the Anti-Americanism that we’ve promoted in Canada. When the Federal government relieves people of their duties for expressing an absolute truth – Anti-Americanism is a threat to national security – you know the sentiment of our government. Further, the statement has been proven true.

We allowed a non-market actor into our country on an official basis, as an adjunct of a New World Order—an actor that has openly stated it seeks dominance in the world. In doing so, we’ve broken ranks with long-standing allies. Further, our permissiveness, for which there is no ostensible explanation, has permitted state espionage, organized crime, and the hybridization of them to expand in our country and to spill over into the US.

My research to date has indicated no meaningful effect on GDP from all these “trade” deals the government is reporting to have entered. Trade diversification is critical; it can be pursued without building an Anti-American trade bloc.

Using the inventory of manufactured resentment against the US for political advancement is unwise, unkind, and detrimental to a relationship that deserves better. In times like these, we should be strengthening ties.

Core Issue	Canadian Narrative	U.S. Congressional Framing	Objective Strategic Rationale
Infrastructure Investment	"Veto over strategic infrastructure"	Continental Supply Chain Screening	Establishing unified security reviews for telecom, ports, and energy grids to block hostile foreign state-owned enterprises from the North American perimeter.
The concern was the underlying rationale for section 32.10. This was always a part of the deal. The manner in which Canada is interfacing with China excites this section. How the Article 32.10 "Veto" Functions If Canada, the U.S., or Mexico intends to enter into a free trade agreement with a country designated as a "non-market economy" (a definition primarily aimed at China), the following legal steps are triggered: The Information Mandate: The country seeking the deal must notify the other two partners three months before negotiations even begin and must share the specific objectives of the talks. The Text Review: The full text of the proposed agreement must be handed over to the other two CUSMA partners at least 30 days before signing so they can review it for impacts on the North American market. The Termination Trigger (The Veto): If either of the remaining two partners objects to the deal, Article 32.10 allows them to terminate CUSMA as a trilateral agreement on six months' notice.
Third-Party Tariffs	"Preemptive trade restrictions"	Border Enforcement & Tariff Harmonization	Eliminating the risk of transshipment by ensuring Canada does not act as a low-tariff backdoor for subsidized Chinese steel, aluminum, or EVs into the U.S. market.
This is an understandable condition for all parties. It is part of the spirit of section 32.10.
Critical Minerals	"Jurisdictional preemption & price caps"	Allied Resource Security Agreements	Securing stable, long-term access to essential raw materials within the G7 network to reduce reliance on non-market adversarial monopolies.
It is critical that we secure our supply chains. The fact that the Canadian government is allowing a non-market player into our north is a justifiable concern for the US and should be for Canada. A first right of refusal on the purchase of minerals costs Canada nothing, as long as transactions happen at fair market value. What we do with minerals inside our country after refusal in the first place needs to be at our discretion.
Digital Platforms	"Rescinding DST & Online News Act"	Removal of Discriminatory Digital Taxes	Repealing targeted, protectionist levies that penalize American tech innovation to subsidize domestic media companies.
Media & Culture	"Eliminating cultural & language protections"	National Treatment for Digital Services	Creating a level playing field for U.S. streaming platforms and creators by dismantling discriminatory local content quotas and language mandates.
How we manage languages is clearly a national imperative. As for media of all kinds, the market should be allowed to work. Canadians pay more for all types of media as a result of these sorts of market violations. In its defense, the Canadian government historically leaned on CUSMA's "Cultural Industries Exception" (Article 32.6), which allows Canada to protect its domestic media, publishing, and broadcasting from standard free-trade rules. However, this defense triggered a massive counter-clause that the U.S. used as a legal leverage point: The Right to Retaliate: Under the explicit terms of CUSMA, if Canada invokes the cultural exception to enact a measure that would otherwise violate the trade agreement, the United States is granted an automatic, unilateral right to respond with measures of equivalent commercial effect without having to go through years of standard dispute panels. The Outcome: This precise legal reality is what forced Prime Minister Carney's administration to blink. Facing a U.S. threat to use Section 301 tariffs of equivalent value—which would have instantly penalized billions of dollars in vulnerable Canadian steel, aluminum, and manufacturing exports—the Canadian government officially capitulated, passing royal assent to repeal the Digital Services Tax Act. [1, 2, 3, 4] Past Thinking on CRTC Reform
Public Procurement	"Eliminating 'Buy Canada'"	Reciprocal Government Procurement	Opening Canadian public works contracts to American firms on the same reciprocal terms that Canadian contractors enjoy in the massive U.S. market.
From the perspective of the U.S. Trade Representative, the American push during the recent trade talks was to establish a system of true, comprehensive reciprocity. Canada would be much better off with this portion of the arrangement in place.
Dairy & Agriculture	"Dismantling agricultural safeguards"	Dismantling Non-Tariff Market Distortions	Phasing out Canada's highly protectionist "supply management" cartels (which levy 200–300% tariffs) to allow free market access for U.S. dairy and poultry.
The supply management systems in Canada are outmoded. They constrain our industry's potential due to our inability to effectively participate in world markets. Dismantling them with full reimbursements for quotas at fair market value would liberate billions of dollars for our producers. New Zealand undertook the process with extraordinary success. More thoughts on the subject   Supply Management - Transition Supply Management - Minister of International Trade Experiences & Overview of the BC Milk Marketing System
Automotive Rules	"Unilateral alteration of auto rules"	Strict Rules of Origin Enforcement	Closing regulatory loopholes that allow cars assembled with high percentages of overseas parts to claim duty-free status, thereby reshoring auto jobs.
Intellectual Property	"Pharmaceutical patent extensions"	Fair Value for Biomedical Innovation	Strengthening patent protections so that trading partners pay a fair share of the massive R&D costs required for life-saving therapeutics.
The Percentage: The total pharmaceutical export pipeline represents approximately 0.8% to 1.0% of the entire annual bilateral trade relationship between the two nations. The $3 billion core of finished products represents just 0.34% of total cross-border commerce. This is hardly a deal-breaker.
Continental Defense	"Binding military mandates"	Equitable Security Burden-Sharing	Directing a portion of trade-generated wealth into meeting basic NATO 2% commitments and upgrading shared NORAD and Arctic defence architecture.