Trump appears to have started a new trade war with Canada because the war in Iran has failed, and the president needs an ego boost.
The problem is that every one of Trump’s ego-boost moves comes at a price, and in the case of the trade war with Canada, the price could be Republican control of the US Senate.
Two currently Republican-held seats were already in toss-up territory before Trump’s new trade war. After Trump announced a new 50% tariff on hundreds of Canadian imports, Canada responded in kind with a tit-for-tat response to Trump.
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The problem is that the states that will be hit hardest by the Canadian retaliation often have Senate races that Republicans must win to keep their majority.
Politico reported:
Trump’s latest actions — especially his decision to impose 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, inviting retaliatory duties from America’s No. 2 trading partner — has sparked new pushback from GOP lawmakers and candidates.
His moves are set to reverberate especially hard in a handful of states crucial to the party’s hopes of keeping their Senate majority. That includes northern border states, such as Maine and Michigan, as well as agriculture-heavy battlegrounds like Iowa and North Carolina that have been buffeted for more than a year by Trump’s embrace of hardball trade tactics.
The agricultural states were already hurting, and it is about to get even worse before the midterm election.