Donald Trump has spent decades telling Americans that he is a master negotiator. He built much of his public image around that claim. But the growing trade war with Canada is showing something very different.
When negotiations get difficult, Trump threatens. When another country refuses to give him what he wants, he raises tariffs. When diplomacy requires patience and compromise, he turns to intimidation.
That is not negotiating. It is bullying.
And now American workers, businesses and consumers may end up paying the price.
The United States has imposed 50 percent tariffs on about 20 billion dollars worth of Canadian goods after negotiations between Washington and Ottawa broke down. Canada has announced plans to retaliate beginning September 8.
So what exactly did Trump's negotiating strategy accomplish?
The United States has higher tariffs. Canada is preparing retaliatory tariffs. Businesses on both sides of the border are facing more uncertainty. Manufacturers are being forced to reconsider supply chains that have operated across the border for decades.
Nobody won a deal because there is no deal.
This is a failure.
The Myth of the Master Negotiator
Trump's reputation as a brilliant negotiator has always depended heavily on the image he created through The Art of the Deal and later through television.
But selling yourself as a great negotiator and actually negotiating an international trade agreement are two very different things.
Real negotiations require knowing when to push and when to compromise. You have to understand what the other side needs. You have to know which demands really matter and which ones can be traded away to get something more important.
Most importantly, you have to know how to close the deal.
Trump did not close the deal with Canada.
He blew it up.
Canada is not some struggling contractor Trump can push around at a negotiating table. It is a sovereign country with its own government, voters, industries and economic interests.
Only days before the negotiations collapsed, the two governments appeared to be moving toward an agreement. Trump himself said the United States would probably reach a deal with Canada.
Instead, negotiations fell apart and the tariffs went into effect.
That is not the work of a master negotiator.
That is a failed negotiation.
Americans Could Pay the Price
Trump often talks about tariffs as if Canada is going to send the United States a check.
That is not how tariffs work.
The American company importing the product pays the tariff. That company then has to decide whether to absorb the additional cost or pass it along to customers.
Guess who usually ends up paying at least part of that bill.
The American consumer.
That is especially dangerous when dealing with Canada because the American and Canadian economies are deeply connected.
Nowhere is that more obvious than the automobile industry.
Cars and automobile parts can cross the United States and Canadian border several times during production. Michigan's economy has been connected to Ontario's manufacturing economy for generations.
Trump has also threatened tariffs of up to 50 percent on Canadian vehicles, automobile parts and steel beginning in 2027.
That should concern everyone in Michigan.
Higher costs for parts mean higher manufacturing costs.
Higher manufacturing costs can mean higher vehicle prices.
Higher vehicle prices hurt consumers.
And when companies begin looking for ways to cut costs, workers eventually become part of that conversation.
Trump claims he is protecting American manufacturing while creating enormous uncertainty for one of America's most important manufacturing regions.
That makes no sense.
Canada Is Not Backing Down
If Trump expected Canada to surrender, he badly miscalculated.
Canada has announced dollar for dollar retaliatory tariffs scheduled to begin September 8. Those tariffs are expected to target American products including steel, dairy products, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has also warned that Canada has other economic weapons available, including electricity exports and critical minerals.
Whether Canada ultimately uses those measures remains to be seen. The fact that they are even being discussed shows how badly this relationship has deteriorated.
This is Canada we are talking about.
The United States and Canada share thousands of miles of border. We share manufacturing networks, energy infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, defense cooperation and generations of business relationships.
Canada is not our enemy.
Yet Trump increasingly treats disagreements with Canada as though he is confronting a hostile government that needs to be punished.
That is reckless.
Then There Is Lake America
As if a major trade dispute were not enough, Trump has now threatened to rename Lake Ontario Lake America.
It is difficult to think of a better example of how ridiculous this situation has become.
Lake Ontario sits between the United States and Canada. Canada is not going anywhere because Donald Trump is angry with its government.
Changing the name of a lake does absolutely nothing for Americans.
It does not lower grocery prices.
It does not protect an autoworker's job.
It does not reopen a factory.
It does not help farmers.
It does not help manufacturers.
It does not reduce the national debt.
And it certainly does not produce a trade agreement.
It is childish political theater at a time when serious leadership is needed.
The president of the United States should be sitting down with Canadian leaders and figuring out how to protect American workers while preserving one of the most important trading relationships in the world.
Instead, we are talking about renaming Lake Ontario.
That should embarrass every American.
Bullying Is Not Strength
Trump wants people to believe that threatening everyone is a sign of strength.
It is not.
Destroying trust with allies is not strength.
Creating uncertainty for American businesses is not strength.
Starting a trade war without knowing how to end it is not strength.
Threatening higher and higher tariffs every time negotiations become difficult is not strength.
Strength is getting results.
Where are the results?
Where is the great deal?
Where is the victory?
There isn't one.
Instead, Trump is risking something much bigger.
Canada has spent generations building its economy around trade with the United States. If Washington becomes an unreliable partner, Canada has every reason to begin looking elsewhere.
That means developing stronger relationships with Europe, Asia and other markets.
Once those relationships are built, they may not disappear when Trump leaves office.
That could be one of the lasting consequences of this trade war.
Trump may succeed in doing something America's enemies have wanted for decades. He may push one of America's closest allies away from the United States.
America Deserves Better
Donald Trump wrote The Art of the Deal.
What we are watching with Canada looks more like the art of destroying one.
A trade agreement appeared possible. Now the United States has imposed 50 percent tariffs on billions of dollars of Canadian goods. Canada is preparing retaliation. Trump is threatening additional tariffs on automobiles and automobile parts. Ontario is talking about electricity and critical minerals.
And the president is talking about Lake America.
This is not leadership.
The presidency is not a reality television show.
International diplomacy is not a social media argument.
The American economy is not a casino where the president should keep doubling the bet because the other side refuses to fold.
Canada is our neighbor. Canada is our ally. Canada is one of our largest trading partners.
There will always be disagreements between Washington and Ottawa. An American president should fight for American interests during those negotiations.
But there is a difference between fighting for America and simply picking fights.
Trump does not seem to understand that difference.
His approach to Canada has become another example of a president who mistakes bullying for negotiating, threats for strategy and confrontation for victory.
The consequences will not stay in Washington and Ottawa.
They will eventually reach Michigan factories, automobile dealerships, farms, small businesses and American families.
Trump can call it winning all he wants.
If Americans end up paying higher prices, American companies lose business and American workers lose jobs, there is a much simpler word for it.
Failure.
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