Canada’s biggest newspaper has backed Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s strategy of targeting U.S. voters over Donald Trump’s trade war, arguing retaliatory tariffs could put political pressure on Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The Globe and Mail said the economic case for Canada’s tariffs on US goods was “zilch, nada, zero,” warning that consumers on both sides of the border would face higher prices.
But its editorial board said on Sunday there was “a limited (and time-limited) political case to be made” for the measures and called for American politicians and voters to be made aware of the consequences of Trump’s trade war with Canada.
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“”But it is very much in this country’s interest for American politicians, in both parties, to be fully aware of the consequences of Mr. Trump’s trade war. And for voters to be fully aware of which candidates are prepared to break with the President and call for an end to the mutually assured, and futile, destruction of a trade war with Canada,” the editorial said.
It concluded, “A new Congress that is willing to enforce U.S. law and to halt Mr. Trump’s trade tantrums: that is retaliation worth pursuing.”
The approach echoes a strategy promoted by Ford, who has called for eight U.S. states, all featuring close races in the Midterms, to be hit with “additional retaliatory tariffs.”
Imports from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Texas and Wisconsin should be targeted because they are “politically significant states to the current administration’s base of support,” Ford said in a letter penned to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The letter was widely shared over the weekend but dated August 17, several days before negotiations fell apart and Carney said the two North American neighbors were now in a trade “war.”
The aim is to make the consequences of the trade dispute an issue for American voters, potentially putting pressure on politicians who could challenge Trump’s approach.
There are already signs that tariffs are becoming an issue for voters in at least one closely watched state.
Seven in 10 voters in Iowa are concerned about Canada’s retaliatory tariffs, a new poll by Emerson College Polling suggests. The poll also found 58 percent of those surveyed opposed the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian products. The survey was conducted August 31 – September 1, involved 750 likely Iowa voters, and reported a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percent.
Most midterm elections are scheduled to take place on November 3.