In a commodity-trading province like Saskatchewan, no one should have to be reminded of the importance of trade, especially, trade with the United States, with whom we do the most business.
Everything we do in this province — from selling grains and oilseeds to potash and oil —relies on business beyond our country’s borders. This is particularly critical to rural Saskatchewan where the drivers of the economy are those very commodities.
A trade war, especially one with the United States, threatens our very livelihood in a more serious way than a carbon tax or any other policy government imposes on it.
To have unreasonable tariffs imposed on us and to not be able to sell what we produce into foreign markets for a competitive price is an economic crisis. We all know this from U.S. tariffs imposed over the decades on wheat, potash and beef during the BSE crisis of a decade ago.
So for a Saskatchewan politician to do anything other than whatever they possibly can to ward off the most recent trade started by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, is a disservice.
To their credit, most Saskatchewan politicians — past and present — are doing as much as they can.
Take current Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe who travelled to Washington last week to meet several high-ranking U.S. politicians, including Trump’s secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross.
Some will likely argue that a Canadian premier from a small province isn’t connected enough in Washington to accomplish much of anything.
But Moe’s message of how this could be a “win-win” and “doesn’t have to be a lose-lose” for both Canada and the United States resonates with American politicians more than some realize.
After all, the American politicians may have already gotten a glimpse of the lose-lose scenario in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s list of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports —sleeping bags, maple syrup, yogurt, tissues, napkins, toilet paper, pens, felt-tip markers, chocolate, beer kegs, bourbon and orange juice.
It’s a broad list that, on the surface, doesn’t seem to make much sense. But with the help of bipartisan consultants, some of them Conservative politicians, the list has been carefully crafted to take aim at states where Republicans face tough mid-term elections.
The Saskatchewan premier also made the case of how integrated the U.S. and Canadian economies are, using the example of steel produced at the Evraz mill in Regina.
Recycled U.S. cars are shipped to Canada and that steel is shipped to Portland, Ore. where it’s made into steel plates. Those steel plates are then shipped back to Canada where at they are rolled into pipe used in the Texas oil fields.
Similarly, former premier Brad Wall has been active on his social media feeds with clips of late Republican president Ronald Reagan speaking on the need for trade and how free trade is a conservative value.
Interestingly, Wall’s message came after federal Opposition leader Andrew Scheer lambasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for “failing” Canada’s aluminum and steel producers.
Scheer is well within his right to criticize Trudeau on any subject. Certainly, Trudeau’s handling of the carbon tax and Trans Mountain pipeline are legitimate grounds for opposition criticism.
But it’s a dangerous game for Canadians not to present a united front in the face of these U.S. trade sanctions that are escalating into this all-out trade war.
Faced with criticism from Conservative partisans that he was siding with Trudeau, Wall simply responded that he “respectfully disagreed.”
Wall is right and those who would choose to not demonstrate unity in the trade fight with the United States, including Scheer, need to seriously re-examine their priorities.
An international trade war is no place for local, partisan politics.
