DEVON KRUGGEL: The American government led by Donald Trump is not an honest broker, and it is not an honourable negotiator

The political right in Canada has spent much of its time since last summer complaining that Mark Carney hasn't gotten a deal with the USA while everyone else has.

 

Of course, that's entirely false.

 

Donald Trump promised 90 deals in 90 days and after a full year not one single trade agreement has been signed and sent to the US Senate for ratification. Not one.

 

What Donald Trump did agree to were the frameworks for formal discussions to begin. Canada was already at that step and was in formal negotiations. Then Donald Trump called off the talks in July, which Mark Carney got restarted. Donald Trump called off the talks again last fall and Carney walked away.

 

The European Union and the UK each have one of those framework deals and are in formal negotiations. 

 

Now Donald Trump is saying he might issue new tariffs to any and all nations if they don't support his demand that Greenland become part of the United States. 

 

Here's what every single right leaning person complaining about Mark Carney and admiring Donald Trump's deal making needs to come to terms with: no one can get an actual deal with Donald Trump over the finish line before he purposely undermines it.

 

At this point he's telling the Entire European Union and the United Kingdom that their deals are about to go up in smoke and fresh new tariffs are likely on the way if they don't capitulate.

 

This isn't new either. Both Japan and South Korea had deals with Donald Trump last year when both nations were hit with other tariffs. Their deals were a pretty clear signal that neither country was going to get an actual negotiated agreement with the United States, ever. Both nations are still negotiating but progress has been non-existent. 

 

South Korean nightly news still runs stories on the South Korean workers that were arrested, detained, and abused by ICE last year for building a plant in Georgia that would have eventually been run by American auto-workers. The South Koreans have refused to return to the USA without formal apologies and safety guarantees.

 

When I read these stories, and it isn't just one it is many, one thing is crystal clear: as much as Canada needs a trade deal with the United States we will never, ever get one. That's the reality of the world we live in. The American government led by Donald Trump is not an honest broker, and it is not an honourable negotiator. 

 

I had my doubts on the job Mark Carney was doing on the US trade front last year. That was because I felt he was throwing the US and Trump too many bones. He rolled back some of the counter tariffs. He rolled back the Digital Services Tax. Those were concessions to help get the negotiations rolling. Except, they did not.

 

Now we, like the EU and the UK, are back in Trump's crosshairs over Greenland.

 

Carney was right to walk away. He's talked with Trump face to face multiple times now. He saw this man in action. Mark Carney saw him for who and what he is: a conman playing games.

 

Canada has to look at a trade world without the US going forward. We have to support all of our other allies and trade with them. We have to open our markets to them as well to get that trade flowing.

When it comes to the future one thing is clear: no matter what deal we could sign with Trump the fact is he'll threaten or levy tariffs again and again when he wants to for any reason.

Donald Trump will never keep his word.

 

We cannot be afraid of being hit by Trump.

 

Let's support Denmark, Greenland, the UK, and the entire EU. Let's work with China. Let's work with the ASEAN nations. 

Let's work with everyone else, and I'm sad to say this, but turn our backs on the USA.