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Sometimes, you get what you deserve

The schadenfreude is strong with this item.

Canadians still reacting to the U.S. president’s unjustified trade war can be forgiven for rubbing their hands, even a bit, with glee over U.S.-Argentina relations.

Managing global trade can be like juggling two Rubik’s Cubes and a chainsaw while trying to solve the cubes at the same time. One wrong move…

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Argentina just said “Thanks!” to the U.S. president after he rolled out a US$20-billion bailout package to the South American country, then — perhaps after the cheque cleared — went and suspended its export taxes on soybeans and stole America’s soybean business with China.

Argentina’s soybean exports surged to a seven-year high in September while America’s exports to China dropped to… *checks notes*… zero.

If it persists, it amounts to losing nearly a quarter of a US$25-billion annual export.

Argentina President Javier Milei, addressing the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly Sept. 24, pulled quite the fast one on the U.S. (Heather Khalifa / The Associated Press files)

Argentina President Javier Milei, addressing the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly Sept. 24, pulled quite the fast one on the U.S. (Heather Khalifa / The Associated Press files)

This is where you may want to stifle the urge to chuckle. Or not. Do what feels right.

It would be easy to roll out the sympathy cards for American farmers, but that would be ignoring the fact they, largely, voted for this. They saw how badly the 45th president mangled the ag industry and said, “Yup, we want more of that from 47.”

Of course, American tariffs on China did nothing to endear the east Asian country to American producers, so who can blame it for jumping at the chance to buy soybeans elsewhere?

Canada is suffering its own injuries in the tit-for-tat battle of tariffs: China’s steep tariffs on Canadian canola products — retaliation for Canada’s 106 per cent tariffs on Chinese EVs — have devastated the industry.

The Canadian tariffs effectively slam the brakes on a Chinese invasion of EVs with arguably superior technology and lower prices. The justification is that a combination of state subsidies for production and lower wages put Chinese EVs at a significant market advantage over those made in North America.

Failing to match the U.S. 100 per cent tariff would be another in a long list of irritants slowing the negotiation of a trade deal with the U.S. Whether that’s all worth blowing a hole in the canola industry is another question.

Also, as the Argentina situation shows, negotiating a deal with an untrustworthy adversary can be a fool’s gambit.

 

Kelly Taylor, Reporter

 

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The week ahead

  • On Tuesday, World Trade Centre Winnipeg hosts a webinar, Traceability Standards from Country-of-Origin to Destination – Learn How Barcodes Can Help. Details here.
  • On Thursday, Manitoba Women in Construction hosts a roundtable discussion on issues facing women in the industry. Details here.
  • On Friday, the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship at the Asper School of Business hosts a webinar, AI for Startups. Details here.

Upcoming events

  • On Oct. 15, World Trade Centre Winnipeg hosts a webinar, The Impact of Culture on Business in International Markets: India. Details here.
  • On Oct. 23, Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce hosts At The Table, with Isabelle Hudon, president and CEO of BDC. Details here.

 

 
 

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