Trump torched trade talks with Canada last week after demanding veto power over Canada’s own infrastructure spending and its ability to make deals with other countries. Toronto-based writer and geopolitical analyst Justin Podur tells Rania Khalek and Zoe Alexandra Washington’s demands went well beyond the terms of the USMCA (formerly NAFTA) into “total annexation-style stuff” before the Trump administration slapped 50% tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian goods, everything from dairy and alcohol to hockey equipment.

Podur explains what Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “dollar for dollar” retaliation really means for two deeply unequal, deeply integrated economies; why a tens-of-billions-of-dollar F-35 deal is still quietly moving forward as both countries claim they’re at “war”; and why saying no to Trump has become cool across the Canadian political spectrum. He unpacks what this trade war actually reveals: a declining US empire bullying its closest allies, now that pushing around rivals like Iran and China isn’t working.

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