Last week was a rough one for allies of the United States. It began with Donald Trump announcing the curtailment of military exercises with South Korea, apparently because Seoul hurt the president’s feelings by failing to join his failed war with Iran. Soon after, the Republican threatened to “bomb the s–––” out of Oman, another U.S. ally, for reasons that were far from clear.
The news, however, was supposed to be better for American relations with Canada. In fact, as recently as Wednesday, Trump declared at an unrelated White House event that he and his administration “probably have a deal with Canada,” which he said would be “a good deal for everybody.”
The process collapsed soon after. The Associated Press reported:
The United States imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday, and Canada immediately said it would retaliate, after last-ditch negotiations failed to resolve the latest strain in already tense relations between the historic allies.
President Donald Trump’s import taxes will hit about 5% of what Canada ships to the United States every year, including products ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors.
To the surprise of no one, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that his country “will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.” At that point, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer turned to Fox News to suggest that the Trump administration is prepared to “respond to Canadian retaliation,” which, on its face, didn’t make a lot of sense.
Jamieson Greer tries to portray the US as a victim of Canadian aggression: “We’re moving forward with measures that respond to Canadian retaliation”
Trump, meanwhile, complained via social media that Canada “wants the benefits of being a state,” though I’ll confess that I’m not altogether sure what that message was supposed to mean.
Predictably, this led to a fresh round of finger-pointing about who was to blame for the breakdown, but Politico’s behind-the-scenes report suggested that there were divisions within Team Trump, which led to disjointed negotiations and unrealistic “last-minute demands” from the Republican administration.
A Toronto Star report added, “As the prime minister described it, he was faced with a trade agreement that was suddenly transformed into an attack on Canadian sovereignty, an attempted psychological annexation that could have turned Canada into an American client state, a sort of North American Belarus.”
Time will tell just how significant the adverse economic impact will be — Paul Krugman predicted, “Trump is going to lose his trade war with Canada as thoroughly as he has lost his shooting war with Iran” — though there’s little reason to hope for a quick resolution. Indeed, as this week got underway, the American president pushed a new round of threats, declaring online, “On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%. … [Canadian officials] feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, meanwhile, told The Associated Press that Canada should be ready to cut electricity and critical minerals to the U.S. if the trade dispute intensifies.
As the slow-moving disaster continues to unfold, it’s worth pausing to appreciate an underappreciated angle: Trump sure is bad at making deals.
The Republican tried and failed to reach a deal with Iran. He tried and failed to reach a deal with Russia over its war in Ukraine. He tried and failed to reach a deal with China. He tried and seemingly succeeded in reaching a deal with Saudi Arabia, but he then changed the terms of the deal after it had already been signed.
To be sure, Republicans have spent much of the last decade trying to convince people that Trump is a dealmaker without equal. During her tenure as the State Department’s chief spokesperson, Tammy Bruce told Fox Business, “President Trump is, as we know, the best dealmaker in the world.” Around the same time, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins made related on-air comments, telling Fox Business that Trump’s dealmaking abilities are “unlike anything I think any of us have ever seen.”
But the evidence to bolster the boasts remains elusive. The hype is certainly obvious and ubiquitous — I could retire if I had a dollar for every GOP voice who has referred to the president’s ghostwritten “Art of the Deal” — but proof doesn’t exist.
As The Atlantic’s David Graham explained in a recent analysis:
Donald Trump’s reputation and political career were built on his dealmaking prowess, yet the president keeps demonstrating that he is a terrible negotiator.
Repeatedly over the past nine years, Trump has gotten rolled by counterparts during high-stakes exchanges. North Korea, Russia, Russia again, China, and China again have gotten the better of the United States. Trump has had to slink back to Washington without much to show except empty talk about friendship with whatever dictator has just run circles around him. He’s had some success in brokering agreements when acting as a third party (though not nearly as much as he pretends) but much less luck when his own government is a participant.
Shortly before launching his Republican candidacy in 2015, he identified this as his greatest strength. “Deals are my art form,” Trump claimed online. “Other people paint beautifully or write poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks.”
If that’s true, he hasn’t had much fun during his White House tenure.
The Washington Post reported in August 2020, “The president who pitched himself to voters as the consummate negotiator and ultimate dealmaker has repeatedly found his strategies flummoxed by the complexities and pressures of Washington lawmaking.” In a related Post column, Jackson Diehl explained, “He’s not up to serious negotiation. He can’t be expected to seriously weigh costs and benefits, or make complex trade-offs. He’s good at bluster, hype and showy gestures, but little else. In short, he may be the worst presidential deal maker in modern history.”
Diehl’s column was published in May 2018. The evidence to bolster the case is even more obvious now.
This post, which has been revised to reflect developments from Monday morning, updates our related earlier coverage.
The post White House trade talks with Canada collapse, exposing Trump’s poor dealmaking skills appeared first on MS NOW.
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