Victor Davis Hanson on Canada, Mexico, and US Trade Disputes

North American Trade Tensions

• 🇺🇸 Victor Davis Hanson discusses recent trade and border disagreements with North American partners Canada and Mexico.
• 🤝 Despite significant trade volume ($1.5 trillion annually), both countries are engaging in actions that Hanson views as confrontational.

Canada's Digital Services Tax

• 🇨🇦 Canada's decision to enforce a 3% digital services tax on US tech companies like Amazon and Google is highlighted.
• 💰 This tax is retroactive to 2022, potentially costing US tech firms billions, and is seen as an unnecessary provocation given existing trade surpluses.
• 📈 Canada holds a significant trade surplus with the US, further complicating the imposition of new taxes.

Mexico's Stance on Immigration and Trade

• 🇲🇽 Mexico, under President Claudia Sheinbaum, is criticized for opposing remittance taxes and commenting on US civil unrest.
• 💸 Mexico benefits greatly from US trade surpluses (approx. $171 billion annually) and remittances (approx. $63 billion annually), yet engages in hostile actions.
• ⚠️ Hanson questions why Mexico would oppose measures that could curb illegal immigration and remittances, given its economic reliance on them.

Proposed Solutions and Concerns

• 🔍 Hanson expresses concern over the timing and nature of these actions, particularly the retroactive tax enforcement by Canada.
• 🤔 He suggests, somewhat facetiously, that Mexico and Canada should be placed next to each other to resolve their issues independently, keeping the US out of it.
• ⚠️ The speaker warns that if Canada's tax goes through, other nations, like European countries, may follow suit.