Canada and Joanne

This is part of the reason Canada bailed on the trade negotiations.  When the team from Canada arrived, they thought they had the agreement that had emerged the prior week.  Instead the people from the US pulled these things out.  No way would this be accepted, especially interference with Quebec.

Dairy Market Access: The U.S. demanded that Canada alter its supply management system and accept Washington's interpretation of how dairy licensing and market access should be allocated for American farmers. [1, 2]

Removal of Retaliatory Measures & Provincial Bans: Washington called for Canada to drop all retaliatory tariffs, for provincial governments to end bans on sales of U.S. alcohol, and to scrap "Buy Canadian" procurement policies. [1]

Industrial & Auto Sector Terms: The U.S. introduced last-minute terms targeting Canada’s auto sector and production rules. [1]

Digital and Media Regulations: The U.S. pressed for an overhaul of Canadian online streaming and tech laws, which Washington asserted discriminated against American digital and media firms. [1]

External Trade Autonomy: The U.S. pushed for restrictions on Canada's independence to pursue separate free trade deals with other international nations. [1]

Language and Culture Protections: The U.S. targeted specific Canadian laws designed to safeguard and protect the French language and Canadian cultural heritage. 

Labor Alignment & Enforcement: Washington demanded that Ottawa strictly align its regulatory approaches and information sharing regarding forced labor and child labor. The U.S. sought to use these restrictions as economic leverage over Canadian supply chains. 

Automotive Refusals: While the U.S. initially offered to lower existing auto tariffs from 25% to 15%, it introduced restrictive production terms and flatly rejected Canada's counter-demands for lower tariffs on heavy trucks. 

Total Rescission of Retaliation: The U.S. demanded that Canada entirely drop its previous counter-tariffs without the U.S. providing parallel concessions on major Canadian exports like lumber, steel, or aluminum. 

There's so much more to say about the orange ball of crud, but I think I'll give it a rest.  

The news of Joanne's death has sort of taken the stuffing out of me.  Ellen did a wonderful write up, so I think I'm going to purloin her work, which you can find here.  Joanne was truly a woman of substance.