Trump’s attacks on Canada have forced North American politicians to rethink their assumptions about the geopolitics of the hemisphere

President Donald Trump ’s decision to impose tariffs on Canada , Mexico , and China , its three largest trading partners, was justified by the “extraordinary threat” posed by illegal immigration and drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl.

One of the main justifications given by the White House is the United States ’ trade deficit in goods, which in 2023 reached over $1 trillion .

Trump 's ideas, despite their narrative coherence, relied on an oversimplification of the economics of tariffs that flew in the face of historical evidence.

Trump ’s economic advisory team seems to ignore that a tariff war hurts all the participant countries, regardless of their economic and military strength.

Instead of boosting US export revenues, an aggressive tariff policy could have the opposite effect — leading to a reduction in export earnings.

Imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico , as well as facing retaliatory tariffs, would significantly increase the cost of intermediate goods used in US manufacturing.

A trade war with the United States would have immediate and tangible effects on Canadian consumers.

Canada has long assumed that deep economic integration with American imperialism would serve its best interests.

The U.S. has long leveraged its economic dominance over Canada to extract voluntary” concessions on issues of critical natural resources access, immigration, border security, and military spending.