EDITORIAL: Stick a fork in ‘Elbows Up’

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“Elbows Up” hasn’t been Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach to dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump on tariffs ever since he won the April election and it’s time to consign the phrase to the dustbin of history.

While Carney advocated dollar-for-dollar tariffs against the U.S. during the Liberal leadership race, he quickly jettisoned the idea on becoming prime minister.

That was logical given that Canada would lose a dollar-for-dollar trade war because the U.S. economy is ten times the size of ours.

A Leger/Postmedia poll released last week found public support for the “Elbows Up” approach to trade relations with the U.S. — that the Liberals originally promoted — has plummeted.

Six months ago, it was at 73%. Now it’s down to 45%, close to a statistical tie with 41% who say Canadian negotiators should take a more measured approach and focus on getting a deal with Trump, even if it means some tariffs on Canadian goods remain.

That’s similar to Carney’s path on the issue — posing initially as a trade warrior who would meet Trump dollar-for-dollar on the field of battle and get a deal eliminating all the Trump tariffs.

That was always a double-edged sword because Canadian counter-tariffs on imported U.S. goods are paid by Canadians in higher consumer prices.

Carney’s position has changed significantly since then.

First, his government removed counter-tariffs it had initially imposed on many imported American goods that Canadian companies needed to continue operating.

He scrapped the Liberals’ digital services tax within days of Trump demanding it.

Then he lowered expectations, saying a deal with Trump could include some U.S. tariffs.

Carney also put out the word that Canada’s position was that no deal with the U.S. was better than a bad deal.

What it all means is that some of the tariffs Trump has already imposed on us could become permanent, leading up to renegotiating the entire Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade that comes up for renewal next year.

Trump agreed to that deal during his first term, praising it at the time as “the fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law … the best agreement we’ve ever made.”