From: Lawrence Herman To: Trade observers Date: February 19, 2026 Re: CUSMA Review Talks Could be Bridge to Nowhere, or Worse Donald Trump’s latest threat – holding the opening of new Windsor-Detroit bridge to ransom – shows how far Canada-US relations have deteriorated. This aggressive bullying won’t stop and is likely to spill into the review of the Canada-United States-Mexico […]
Published in The Globe and Mail. U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest threat to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge shows how far Canada-U.S. relations have deteriorated. The $6.4-billion second link between Windsor and Detroit, funded by Canada, is supposed to open this year. Then Mr. Trump said on Monday: “I will not allow this bridge […]
To: Bank of Canada observersFrom: Don DrummondRe: Rosy Free Trade Assumptions Hobble Bank of Canada Projections Credit the Bank of Canada for a realistic depiction of risks facing the global and Canadian economies in its recent quarterly report. In the central bank’s view, the world is becoming more fragmented, geopolitical risks are elevated and […]
From: Ed Devlin and Dane RowlandsTo: Trade war observersRe: Analyzing that Davos Speech Through a Financial Market Manager’s Lens Mark Carney’s China deal that sees tariff reductions on Canadian canola products, lobster, peas and crabs in exchange for allowing 49,000 electric vehicles to enter Canada, signaled a clear plan to diversify trade away from the United […]
From: Lawrence HermanTo: Trade war watchersRe: The Unheralded Protection Against Unfair Chinese EV Pricing Donald Trump has threatened Canada with 100-percent, across-the-board tariffs because Canada has agreed to allow 49,000 Chinese EVs to enter at reduced tariffs in return for the removal of duties on canola and other Canadian agrifood products. This latest eruption is, […]
Canada exports more research and development (R&D) services than it buys from abroad, while paying significantly more than it receives for the use of intellectual property (IP) (e.g., royalties or copyrights) derived from R&D. In contrast, the UK or US both export research services and receive net payments for the use of their IP abroad, […]
From: Jeff Mahon and Wolfgang AlschnerTo: Prime Minister Mark CarneyDate: January 13, 2026Re: Delivering a Successful China Mission Canada is at a turning point, embroiled in trade conflicts with our two largest trading partners, the United States and China. These two conflicts are interconnected: How we solve one will have ramifications on the other. Canada […]
From: Lawrence HermanTo: Trade observersDate: January 6, 2025Re: Let’s Get Ready for the End of CUSMA The era of North American free trade is over. That point was hammered home by the report on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement sent to Congress last month by the US Trade Representative, a prelude to the formal review of the deal […]
Published in The Globe and Mail. The era of North American free trade is over. That point was hammered home by the report on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement sent to Congress last week by the U.S. Trade Representative, a prelude to the formal review of the deal set to start in July, but which could get underway earlier. […]
From: Lawrence HermanTo: Trade watchersDate: December 10, 2025Re: The Trade Calculus of the New Era It seems fair to say that in the annals of Canadian trade relations, there has rarely been as intense a flurry of activity as in the past few months, with more than a dozen new agreements struck by Prime Minister […]
From: Lawrence HermanTo: Trade war watchersDate: November 10, 2025Re: Ottawa Needs More Strategic Coordination With Business It looks like the Canadian side was caught flat-footed with U.S. President Donald Trump’s blow-ups last week – terminating the trade talks and then suddenly adding new 10-per-cent duties. Then on Monday, Mr. Trump said he did not even […]
Published in The Globe and Mail. It looks like the Canadian side was caught flat-footed with U.S. President Donald Trump’s blow-ups last week – terminating the trade talks and then suddenly adding new 10-per-cent duties. Then on Monday, Mr. Trump said he did not even want to see Prime Minister Mark Carney. “I’m not going to be meeting with him […]
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From: Lawrence Herman To: Trade observers Date: February 19, 2026 Re: CUSMA Review Talks Could be Bridge to Nowhere, or Worse Donald Trump’s latest threat – holding the opening of new Windsor-Detroit bridge to ransom – shows how far Canada-US relations have deteriorated. This aggressive bullying won’t stop and is likely to spill into the review of the Canada-United States-Mexico […] 
Published in The Globe and Mail. U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest threat to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge shows how far Canada-U.S. relations have deteriorated. The $6.4-billion second link between Windsor and Detroit, funded by Canada, is supposed to open this year. Then Mr. Trump said on Monday: “I will not allow this bridge […] 
To: Bank of Canada observersFrom: Don DrummondRe: Rosy Free Trade Assumptions Hobble Bank of Canada Projections Credit the Bank of Canada for a realistic depiction of risks facing the global and Canadian economies in its recent quarterly report. In the central bank’s view, the world is becoming more fragmented, geopolitical risks are elevated and […] 
From: Ed Devlin and Dane RowlandsTo: Trade war observersRe: Analyzing that Davos Speech Through a Financial Market Manager’s Lens Mark Carney’s China deal that sees tariff reductions on Canadian canola products, lobster, peas and crabs in exchange for allowing 49,000 electric vehicles to enter Canada, signaled a clear plan to diversify trade away from the United […] 
From: Lawrence HermanTo: Trade war watchersRe: The Unheralded Protection Against Unfair Chinese EV Pricing Donald Trump has threatened Canada with 100-percent, across-the-board tariffs because Canada has agreed to allow 49,000 Chinese EVs to enter at reduced tariffs in return for the removal of duties on canola and other Canadian agrifood products. This latest eruption is, […] 
Canada exports more research and development (R&D) services than it buys from abroad, while paying significantly more than it receives for the use of intellectual property (IP) (e.g., royalties or copyrights) derived from R&D. In contrast, the UK or US both export research services and receive net payments for the use of their IP abroad, […] 
From: Jeff Mahon and Wolfgang AlschnerTo: Prime Minister Mark CarneyDate: January 13, 2026Re: Delivering a Successful China Mission Canada is at a turning point, embroiled in trade conflicts with our two largest trading partners, the United States and China. These two conflicts are interconnected: How we solve one will have ramifications on the other. Canada […] 
Published in The Globe and Mail. The era of North American free trade is over. That point was hammered home by the report on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement sent to Congress last week by the U.S. Trade Representative, a prelude to the formal review of the deal set to start in July, but which could get underway earlier. […] 
From: Lawrence HermanTo: Trade watchersDate: December 10, 2025Re: The Trade Calculus of the New Era It seems fair to say that in the annals of Canadian trade relations, there has rarely been as intense a flurry of activity as in the past few months, with more than a dozen new agreements struck by Prime Minister […] 
From: Lawrence HermanTo: Trade war watchersDate: November 10, 2025Re: Ottawa Needs More Strategic Coordination With Business It looks like the Canadian side was caught flat-footed with U.S. President Donald Trump’s blow-ups last week – terminating the trade talks and then suddenly adding new 10-per-cent duties. Then on Monday, Mr. Trump said he did not even […] 
Published in The Globe and Mail. It looks like the Canadian side was caught flat-footed with U.S. President Donald Trump’s blow-ups last week – terminating the trade talks and then suddenly adding new 10-per-cent duties. Then on Monday, Mr. Trump said he did not even want to see Prime Minister Mark Carney. “I’m not going to be meeting with him […]