But polls show Trump’s trade policies are increasingly unpopular, and Democrats are determined to make them an issue over the next two months, particularly in border states with economies that are tightly intertwined with their Canadian neighbors’. Michigan Democrats launched new attacks Monday on Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers for refusing to denounce the tariffs, with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed calling Trump an “asshole” for launching the trade war.
“They’re very damaging politically,” said Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist and vocal Trump critic, referring to Trump’s tariffs. “They’re hurting his base vote and the voters that he needs the most.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
There is still plenty of time between now and November, however, for negotiators to return to the table. Carney’s “dollar-for-dollar” retaliation goes into effect on Sept. 8 and Trump’s counter-counter measure — a threatened 50 percent tariffs on autos and auto parts — won’t go into effect until New Year’s Day, a sign both sides want to give space to negotiate a future truce.
And despite Trump’s weekend Truth Social tirade against Canada and his decision last week to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” the president has shown a willingness to back down from his threats when presented with a good deal.
“Four months is, as you know, like an eternity for this president on tariffs. And so he gave them a lot of runway here to make their way back,” said one trade lobbyist, granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks.
In Ottawa, the political boost Carney is enjoying for standing up to Trump and pulling his negotiators out of talks last month will likely start to ebb as the economic impacts of the trade war deepen.
The tariffs Trump imposed on Canada hit $20 billion worth of imports, only about 5 percent of what the U.S. imports from Canada annually. Canada’s tariffs on the US, likewise, hit the same value. But the figure lands far harder north of the border, since the U.S. takes nearly three-quarters of Canada’s exports.
