Article content continued

Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS

There’s some logic to that, but with holes. Countries that are hostile to America’s interests, and would seek to undermine its economy to gain military advantage, are not major exporters of steel and aluminum into the U.S. market. The largest exporter of both is … Canada.

The Indian government is signalling its displeasure, as it has every right to

Details of Trump’s plan are so far sparse. It’s certainly possible it will be carefully tailored to avoid hurting Canada or any other close ally (U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has already urged exemptions to ensure U.S. access to allied materiel). Barring such an exemption, Canada and other allies will have a problem.

Canada’s economy relies on access to the U.S. market. Both Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau pursued new trade deals, which helps, but nothing can replace the United States. This is not something that has escaped the federal government’s attention. Indeed, one area where we have applauded this government’s efforts has been on managing our relationship with an unpredictable White House. Yes, Ottawa’s immature attempt to complicate NAFTA renegotiations with proposed chapters on pet Liberal causes was foolish and may have jeopardized the entire process. But Trudeau’s Liberals have worked hard to develop ties with important Congressional leaders and state houses across the U.S. We have friends south of the border, and they have been hearing from us. This is good.

Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Our confidence in this government’s ability to handle complicated tasks with friendly governments has been rather diminished in recent weeks, however. We do not casually dismiss the two years of concerted effort Trudeau has made to prepare Canada for a trade spat with America; those efforts will yield dividends. But the recent disastrous trip to India raises unavoidable questions about whether this government, particularly on matters of foreign policy, is simply exhausted and overwhelmed. Setting aside the prime minister’s over-the-top wardrobe, the handling of the Jaspal Atwal Affair — capital-A Affair, yes — has been astonishingly amateurish.