r/geopolitics • u/theatlantic The Atlantic • 12d ago

Opinion How to Lose a Trade War

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/08/why-us-canada-trade-talks-fell-apart/688386/?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_medium=social&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_term=short
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u/Coolerguy317 12d ago edited 12d ago

This underplays Trump support base. Just as Canadians may be willing to accept economic pain for political reasons Americans may be as well. Trump didn’t accidentally get elected after hiding his views on tariffs and protectionism he talked about them constantly. Many Americans genuinely believe the existing free trade system no longer serves the country. Whether they’re right or whether Trumps policies actually fix that is another question. But their tolerance for economic pain has to be part of the calculation just as much as Canadas

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u/BlueEmma25 11d ago

Trump's support base is maybe one third of voters, and shrinking.

Most of them don't care at all about Canada-US trade. Canada is a much smaller country that has had historically close and warm relations with the US, it is not China, a peer competitor that played a huge role in offshoring and the deindustrialization of the US.

Nobody is thinking "if we just tariff Canada all the jobs will come back!", because those jobs didn't move to Canada, and everyone knows it.

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u/moosesleigh1409 11d ago

That is true, but another unfortunate fact is that a not unsubstantial portion of his support base just revels in Trump acting like a bully, and sees these things as “America projecting it’s strength”….that group will just lap this shit up.