“The tariffs will damage the U.S. economy. But the effects on Canada will be devastating. (...) Mr. Trump’s tariffs will result in millions of job losses, widespread business failures and bankruptcies and a collapse of government budgets.”
In the midst of cross-border uproar surrounding proposed tariffs by American president Donald Trump, SPPGA faculty and associated researchers weigh in with expert opinion on how our nation’s future might be impacted by a trade war and what we can do to fight back.
Prof. Kristen Hopewell authored an article titled “Canada needs to hit back much harder against Trump’s America” for The Globe and Mail, offering an appraisal of Trump’s economic war on Canada. She holds that we “must expand the scope of our retaliation beyond traditional goods trade to target American services, intellectual property and technology,” as well as “work with allies [to] present a united front against Mr. Trump’s trade aggression.”
Prof. Hopewell has also spoken with the media about the impact of tariffs specifically in regards to the agricultural industry. In the Newsweek article “Trump Tariffs Could Hit These US States Hardest” she outlined the severe impact to American farmers in the farm belt states, and in the Global News article “Can potash be a trade war weapon for Trump tariffs? Experts urge caution” suggested growing unrest might sway Trump’s view on agriculture products specifically. Prof. Hopewell also contributed to the Financial Post article “‘Everyone’s in crisis mode’: How Canadian companies are rushing to prepare for day one of Trump’s tariffs” and the Toronto Star article “Are goods that simply travel through the U.S. to get to Canada subject to a tariff? The experts are divided.”
Prof. Maxwell Cameron, cross-appointed between SPPGA and Political Science, has also spoken out on tariffs. In the Global News article “Premiers head to Washington amid U.S. tariff threat. What to expect,” Prof. Cameron asserts the importance of remaining “strong and united” as a nation to retaliate against Trump; now more than ever.
In a recent article for the Asia Pacific Foundation, Director of the Institute of Asian Research Prof. Kai Ostwald writes about the importance of strengthening Indo-Pacific ties in these trying times with the United States in his article “Canada After Trump: Why the Indo-Pacific Can’t Be an Afterthought.”
Prof. Navin Ramankutty and Dr. Kushank Bajaj‘s research on the interconnected nature of food systems through the Canada Food Flows online tool has also been highlighted in the media in relation to tariffs including the Vancouver Sun article “Business is blooming for B.C. seed companies as Canadians try to avoid food tariffs.”
Learn more about the research of Kristen Hopewell, Maxwell Cameron, Kai Ostwald and Navin Ramankutty.
