Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to be cowering to the demands of British Columbia Provincial Premier Christy Clark who asked for retaliatory trade action against Oregon and the Pacific Northwest after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced a tariff on Canadian soft-wood imports.

Yesterday (Friday) Prime Weasel Trudeau threatened to ban shipments of U.S. thermal coal from Pacific ports and suggesting sanctions against additional trade products from Oregon due to the support for the soft-wood tariff by Democrat Senator Ron Wyden.

ENERGY ECON […] Trudeau said Ottawa would study whether to stop U.S. firms from shipping thermal coal via the Pacific province of British Columbia. Provincial Premier Christy Clark asked for the ban in response to the U.S. tariffs. Canada is also considering duties on exports from Oregon such as wine, flooring and plywood, said a source close to the matter, citing Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden’s prominent role in pressing for the lumber tariffs.

Analysts said Cloud Peak Energy Inc would be the biggest coal producer affected by a British Columbia ban or levy. Coal is railed to those ports by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp, owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (read more)

I wonder if Prime Weasel Trudeau is aware most of the Cloud Peak transported U.S. Coal only flows to British Columbia as an outcome of using the BC port for export to Asia. Economic analysts don’t even measure how much coal actually stays Canada, so the threat of a Canadian ban on U.S. coal is political gnat-banter for domestic chest-thumping purposes. {{{eyeroll}}}

And you can bet it would only take one tweet from President Trump and a nation of U.S. patriotic consumers could easily cover for any Oregon wine export losses. I know tens-of-thousands of patriots not generally predisposed to support the insufferable Wyden but would rally to fill Oregon’s economic trade void if needed – HINT: “America First“, eh?

The U.S is the worlds biggest consumer of stuff. We are the worlds biggest market. One of the advantages of being the biggest customer, is the leverage our status provides in negotiations with suppliers. That leverage has gone unused for decades, if President Trump calls upon it – it’s there.

$18-20 trillion worth of bigly leverage, the best most magnificent of all leverages, available with a tweet. Believe it.

However, as an outcome of his public statements, Prime Weasel Trudeau has also put himself back on the trade radar of Wilburine Ross.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Saturday that threats of retaliatory trade actions from Canadian officials “are inappropriate” and will not influence final U.S. import duty determinations on Canadian softwood lumber. “We continue to believe that a negotiated settlement is in the best interests of all parties and we are prepared to work toward that end,” Ross said in a statement issued by the Commerce Department. […] Ross said in his statement on Saturday that the Commerce Department’s decision “was based on the facts presented, not on political considerations.” “Threats of retaliatory action are inappropriate and will not influence any final determinations,” Ross added. (link)

There’s been a global trade war against America’s best interests for three decades; Americans’ just haven’t been positioned to fight in it…. until now, eh.

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