I am starting to believe he is when it comes to dealing with Canada.
Protectionism and unfair trade arrangements were a significant worry to Canadian businesses when the Obama administration came to power.
Their fears certainly seem well justified now.
The ever "thickening" border with Canada is no accident.
On an almost daily basis new announcements are made about problems and delays at our border with the United States.
Just the other day yet another new American announcement was made about increasing searches of Canadian commercial vehicles for drugs.
The reason the Americans are slowing down commercial traffic from Canada is simple.
It acts as disincentive to buy Canadian and an incentive to buy American.
Buy making it slower, more expensive and more difficult to ship Canadian products to the United States they are indirectly subsidizing their own products.
The Mexicans have taken the Americans to court over American border trade practices.
The "Buy American" bill that is now in place is in direct violation of our free trade agreements with the United States.
The American business community says the "Buy American" legislation will cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars , put thousands of Americans out of work and will increase the duration of the recession by at least a year.
Not to mention totally screwing Canada.
Obama says he understands Canada's concerns and is gravely concerned about the negative impacts of the "Buy American" policy.
But I am starting to see what Obama is all about.
He says one thing and means another.
He has no plans to get rid of these policies.
In reality he will probably increase them.
The Americans now have instituted a new lumber subsidy to give preferential treatment to their lumber mills.
It uses a tax break for burning "black liqueur" which is a lumber mill byproduct as fuel.
What most people do not know is black liqueur only comes from old and outdated mills.
And there are one heck of a lot more old outdated mills in the United States than there are in Canada.
In reality its just a dodge to benefit American mills over Canadian ones without breaking the letter of the law.
The "dirty oil" from Canada's Tar Sands is yet another unfair trade scam.
It really has nothing to do with the oil being dirty to produce.
Virtually all the Tar Sands oil companies have now announced they will not be upgrading the heavy oil in Canada.
Instead the oil will now be upgraded in the United States.
Existing refineries will be upgraded and new ones constructed as needed in America.
The processors have been lured there with tax incentives.
So a heck of a lot of the jobs and the R&D to process Canadian Oil will now be in the States.
So we Canadians mine the oil, then Americans pipeline it, upgraded it, further refine it and then use the end product.
And now the Americans are going to screw us into a cap and trade program where Canada gets the blame for all the emissions resultant from said heavy oil usage.
This cap and trade program will see Canada paying the United States millions if not billions of dollars to take our oil.
And our jobs.
Neat trick.
So why do we put up with being treated like this?
Why don't we launch multiple legal trade actions against the United States?
Why don't we whip up protectionist policy after protectionist policy and welsh on all our existing trade deals?
Why don't we sell our products to others?
Because we will loose more than we gain is of course the answer.
Canadians were dumb I guess.
We believed in rule of law.
We believed a deal was a deal and a handshake counted for something.
We believed that signed, legal agreements like GATT and NAFTA would be honored.
Especially amongst friends and allies.
And now under the Obama administration we are getting screwed royally.
40% of America's exports go to Canada, over 80% of Canadian exports go to America so we cannot win a trade war.
And the Obama administration knows it.
Most of us realize that the Americans have a huge trade deficit.
The Chinese hold a mind boggling amount of American debt.
The trade problems the Americans have is with China and not Canada.
But China will not be bullied by the Americans.
It's too big and too strong.
In reality China holds so much American debt that it virtually owns the United States.
So when your being a bully you realistically have to pick on someone much smaller.
China is out for the Americans.
What to do? Lets pick on Canada and see if we can stiff them for a few billion in our time of need has got to be Obama's logic.
Canada put all its exporting eggs in one basket.
More fool us.
We need to pick our friends a little more carefully, or at least have a greater variety of friends in the future.
Trex
Protectionism and unfair trade arrangements were a significant worry to Canadian businesses when the Obama administration came to power.
Their fears certainly seem well justified now.
The ever "thickening" border with Canada is no accident.
On an almost daily basis new announcements are made about problems and delays at our border with the United States.
Just the other day yet another new American announcement was made about increasing searches of Canadian commercial vehicles for drugs.
The reason the Americans are slowing down commercial traffic from Canada is simple.
It acts as disincentive to buy Canadian and an incentive to buy American.
Buy making it slower, more expensive and more difficult to ship Canadian products to the United States they are indirectly subsidizing their own products.
The Mexicans have taken the Americans to court over American border trade practices.
The "Buy American" bill that is now in place is in direct violation of our free trade agreements with the United States.
The American business community says the "Buy American" legislation will cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars , put thousands of Americans out of work and will increase the duration of the recession by at least a year.
Not to mention totally screwing Canada.
Obama says he understands Canada's concerns and is gravely concerned about the negative impacts of the "Buy American" policy.
But I am starting to see what Obama is all about.
He says one thing and means another.
He has no plans to get rid of these policies.
In reality he will probably increase them.
The Americans now have instituted a new lumber subsidy to give preferential treatment to their lumber mills.
It uses a tax break for burning "black liqueur" which is a lumber mill byproduct as fuel.
What most people do not know is black liqueur only comes from old and outdated mills.
And there are one heck of a lot more old outdated mills in the United States than there are in Canada.
In reality its just a dodge to benefit American mills over Canadian ones without breaking the letter of the law.
The "dirty oil" from Canada's Tar Sands is yet another unfair trade scam.
It really has nothing to do with the oil being dirty to produce.
Virtually all the Tar Sands oil companies have now announced they will not be upgrading the heavy oil in Canada.
Instead the oil will now be upgraded in the United States.
Existing refineries will be upgraded and new ones constructed as needed in America.
The processors have been lured there with tax incentives.
So a heck of a lot of the jobs and the R&D to process Canadian Oil will now be in the States.
So we Canadians mine the oil, then Americans pipeline it, upgraded it, further refine it and then use the end product.
And now the Americans are going to screw us into a cap and trade program where Canada gets the blame for all the emissions resultant from said heavy oil usage.
This cap and trade program will see Canada paying the United States millions if not billions of dollars to take our oil.
And our jobs.
Neat trick.
So why do we put up with being treated like this?
Why don't we launch multiple legal trade actions against the United States?
Why don't we whip up protectionist policy after protectionist policy and welsh on all our existing trade deals?
Why don't we sell our products to others?
Because we will loose more than we gain is of course the answer.
Canadians were dumb I guess.
We believed in rule of law.
We believed a deal was a deal and a handshake counted for something.
We believed that signed, legal agreements like GATT and NAFTA would be honored.
Especially amongst friends and allies.
And now under the Obama administration we are getting screwed royally.
40% of America's exports go to Canada, over 80% of Canadian exports go to America so we cannot win a trade war.
And the Obama administration knows it.
Most of us realize that the Americans have a huge trade deficit.
The Chinese hold a mind boggling amount of American debt.
The trade problems the Americans have is with China and not Canada.
But China will not be bullied by the Americans.
It's too big and too strong.
In reality China holds so much American debt that it virtually owns the United States.
So when your being a bully you realistically have to pick on someone much smaller.
China is out for the Americans.
What to do? Lets pick on Canada and see if we can stiff them for a few billion in our time of need has got to be Obama's logic.
Canada put all its exporting eggs in one basket.
More fool us.
We need to pick our friends a little more carefully, or at least have a greater variety of friends in the future.
Trex
