Canada

Canada Should Ignore Trump's Protectionism and Unilaterally Enact Free Trade

U.S. tariffs hurt Americans. Retaliatory tariffs will hurt Canadians.

J.D. Tuccille | 8.28.2026 7:00 AM

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(Illustration: Midjourney)

Towards the beginning of the 1974 movie Blazing Saddles, Sheriff Bart, confronted by hostile but not especially bright townspeople, takes himself hostage to make his escape. It's hilarious precisely because it makes no sense. Just as nuts but less funny is the recent confrontation between United States President Donald Trump and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney in which the Canadian matched the American's protectionist threats by vowing to force his own people to pay high tariffs on goods imported from the U.S. It's silver-screen-quality idiocy, but it's not very entertaining if you understand the advantages of free trade and the pointlessness of holding your own side hostage.

You are reading The Rattler from J.D. Tuccille and Reason. Get more of J.D.'s commentary on government overreach and threats to everyday liberty.

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Countering Self-Inflicted Harm With Self-Inflicted Harm

After trade talks between Canada and the U.S. fell apart over the weekend, the prime minister's office warned, "at midnight tonight, the U.S. intends to impose a 50% tariff on roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods. Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses."

Sure enough, in dueling announcements, the White House growled, "Canada has been ripping off the United States for decades—and President Donald J. Trump is done letting them get away with........

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