From: Jon JohnsonTo: Trade WatchersDate: June 10, 2025Re: The Trump Tariffs and the US Tariff Schedule – Where Does CUSMA Stand? The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, or USMCA in the United States) was negotiated and came into effect during first Trump administration with strong support from the president. While it did not radically depart from […]
Introduction Canada faces a dual strategic challenge: an emerging trade war with the United States threatens our economy and fiscal capacity, while chronic underfunding for defence has left us strategically vulnerable and increasingly unable to meet our NATO commitments. Both our prosperity and our territorial integrity are at risk. “Guns or butter?” is the classic […]
June 5, 2025 – A new working paper from the C.D. Howe Institute suggests that Canada could leverage increased defence spending and targeted US procurement commitments to help restore tariff-free trade in a manner that can reinforce national sovereignty. The paper outlines how a time-bound alignment of defence and trade policy could offer Canada renewed […]
To: Canada’s ministers of health and ministers of financeFrom: Rosalie WyonchDate: May 29, 2025Re: Trump’s Pharma Pricing Order Could Have Big Canadian Consequences Donald Trump’s May 12 executive order that US drug prices must not exceed the lowest price in other nations doesn’t mention Canada explicitly, but could cause significant damage to our public healthcare system […]
Canada must take a strategic approach combined with clear tactics as it heads toward a full renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in 2026, according to the C.D. Howe Institute’s Trade Crisis Working Group. US concerns over Canada’s digital services tax, dairy tariff quotas, and demands for tighter auto rules of origin will drive tensions at the July 1, 2026 deadline for a trilateral review of CUSMA (or USMCA in the United States) approaches.
May 23, 2025 – Canada must take a strategic approach combined with clear tactics as it heads toward a full renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in 2026, according to a new Communiqué from the C.D. Howe Institute’s Trade Crisis Working Group. The expert group, which met on May 16, warns that Canada cannot […]
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Lawrence HermanDate: May 22, 2025Re: Reforming Canada’s Trade Remedy System for Turbulent Times In four short months, Donald Trump’s second presidency has disrupted the circulatory system of global trade. In addition to the toll so far and potential further costs of his tariff war, which has closed off the US market to […]
From January to April 2025, employment declined significantly in several trade-exposed sectors, with manufacturing alone shedding over 42,000 jobs. Notable losses were also seen in agriculture and business support services. These declines suggest early impacts of rising trade tensions, particularly in industries tied to cross-border supply chains and export markets. In contrast, more domestically oriented […]
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Brenda González-HermosilloDate: May 15, 2025Re: Trump’s Tariffs have Wide Global Implications The world economy and financial markets are at their highest level of stress since the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 shock. The narrative is largely focused on the impact of frequently modified announcements of large US tariffs on specific […]
Published in Financial Post. In the furore around the on-again, off-again Trump tariffs, it sometimes gets lost that the international trade of goods has implications for international financial transactions and therefore for exchange rates, too. In general, a weaker currency makes a country’s imports more expensive and its exports cheaper. The U.S. dollar is down […]
To: Trade observersFrom: Lawrence HermanDate: May 13, 2025Re: Good Vibes but Lots of Fog After the Oval Office Visit There was lot of attention in foreign circles to Mark Carney’s visit with Donald Trump, reflecting avid international interest as to how the PM would handle Mr. Trump, given the unprecedentedly tense, adversarial relationship between the two countries. […]
William B.P. Robson talks with Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s agenda moving forward.
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From: Jon JohnsonTo: Trade WatchersDate: June 10, 2025Re: The Trump Tariffs and the US Tariff Schedule – Where Does CUSMA Stand? The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, or USMCA in the United States) was negotiated and came into effect during first Trump administration with strong support from the president. While it did not radically depart from […] 
Introduction Canada faces a dual strategic challenge: an emerging trade war with the United States threatens our economy and fiscal capacity, while chronic underfunding for defence has left us strategically vulnerable and increasingly unable to meet our NATO commitments. Both our prosperity and our territorial integrity are at risk. “Guns or butter?” is the classic […] 
To: Canada’s ministers of health and ministers of financeFrom: Rosalie WyonchDate: May 29, 2025Re: Trump’s Pharma Pricing Order Could Have Big Canadian Consequences Donald Trump’s May 12 executive order that US drug prices must not exceed the lowest price in other nations doesn’t mention Canada explicitly, but could cause significant damage to our public healthcare system […] 
Canada must take a strategic approach combined with clear tactics as it heads toward a full renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in 2026, according to the C.D. Howe Institute’s Trade Crisis Working Group. US concerns over Canada’s digital services tax, dairy tariff quotas, and demands for tighter auto rules of origin will drive tensions at the July 1, 2026 deadline for a trilateral review of CUSMA (or USMCA in the United States) approaches. 
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Lawrence HermanDate: May 22, 2025Re: Reforming Canada’s Trade Remedy System for Turbulent Times In four short months, Donald Trump’s second presidency has disrupted the circulatory system of global trade. In addition to the toll so far and potential further costs of his tariff war, which has closed off the US market to […] 
From January to April 2025, employment declined significantly in several trade-exposed sectors, with manufacturing alone shedding over 42,000 jobs. Notable losses were also seen in agriculture and business support services. These declines suggest early impacts of rising trade tensions, particularly in industries tied to cross-border supply chains and export markets. In contrast, more domestically oriented […] 
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Brenda González-HermosilloDate: May 15, 2025Re: Trump’s Tariffs have Wide Global Implications The world economy and financial markets are at their highest level of stress since the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 shock. The narrative is largely focused on the impact of frequently modified announcements of large US tariffs on specific […] 
Published in Financial Post. In the furore around the on-again, off-again Trump tariffs, it sometimes gets lost that the international trade of goods has implications for international financial transactions and therefore for exchange rates, too. In general, a weaker currency makes a country’s imports more expensive and its exports cheaper. The U.S. dollar is down […] 
To: Trade observersFrom: Lawrence HermanDate: May 13, 2025Re: Good Vibes but Lots of Fog After the Oval Office Visit There was lot of attention in foreign circles to Mark Carney’s visit with Donald Trump, reflecting avid international interest as to how the PM would handle Mr. Trump, given the unprecedentedly tense, adversarial relationship between the two countries. […] 
William B.P. Robson talks with Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s agenda moving forward.