Dear editor:

This is a further comment on the article by Ted Carmichael, “Canada should limit retaliation to potential Trump tariffs,” two weeks ago.

Firstly I entirely agree with the sentiments expressed in Brian Emes letter (“Letter: Carmichael ignored Trump’s character in opinion piece,” Feb. 13). For someone with extensive experience in the financial sector, I was puzzled that Mr. Carmichael portrayed Canada as a hand-wringing supplicant rather than the U.S.’s largest trading partner.

He feels we should act fast to get the Trump administration to the table for a redo of NAFTA, but this is what we did in 2018 — and now, he has torn it up.

He feels we should not boycott American products unless they do the same to us but that is precisely what they are planning- they won’t buy our steel or aluminum with a 50 per cent tariff or our auto parts with a 25 per cent tariff.

He feels we can charm our American friends with our world-class wine and hospitality — that may work if they are from Ohio, but if they are from California, not so much.

The fact is that many Americans do already feel we are the 51st state.

OK, our banknotes are a different colour and most everything is cheaper, but a small indication of this occurred last summer when I was in our post office standing behind an American couple who were trying to mail a letter with American stamps on it, while the staff were patiently explaining that mailing a letter in Canada with American stamps on it won’t work.

They were still baffled.

Richard James
NOTL