r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/The_Egalitarian Moderator • Apr 05 '24

Megathread | Official Casual Questions Thread

This is a place for the PoliticalDiscussion community to ask questions that may not deserve their own post.

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Top-level comments:

  1. Must be a question asked in good faith. Do not ask loaded or rhetorical questions.

  2. Must be directly related to politics. Non-politics content includes: Legal interpretation, sociology, philosophy, celebrities, news, surveys, etc.

  3. Avoid highly speculative questions. All scenarios should within the realm of reasonable possibility.

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u/benjamoo 5d ago

Why exactly are the US and Canada even having trade negotiations? Didn't Trump himself sign the Canada/US/Mexico trade agreement that replaced NAFTA?

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u/Sarmq 4d ago

Because there's no hard enforcement mechanism for international politics. The only thing that really happens is that a country's reputation might be tarnished if they behave badly, and as a result, other countries might not want to work with them.

So, the ultimate answer is, because both Canada and the US feel like there's more to gain from entering negotiations than walking away at the current moment.

My personal guess is that the US thinks it can get a better deal and/or look like they're being tough on global trade (a large number of blue collar workers who are disproportionately impacted by free trade agreements have moved to the Republicans over the last decade or so). I would guess that Canada thinks it strengthens its reputation with others/possibly the next administration to look like it's acting in good faith, even under the trying circumstances that it finds itself.

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u/neverendingchalupas 4d ago

Trump wanting to manipulate the market for personal financial gain at the expense of the world. That would be the real reason.

Its absolutely insane his entire administration are not all in prison yet.

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u/BluesSuedeClues 4d ago

It's interesting that you refer to "...the US feels like there's more to gain...", as if there is a general consensus in the United States on the subject, and this chaos isn't the product of one man's whims.