So It’s a Trade War… for Now
Published at 21:51 on 21 August 2026
This is Trump we are talking about negotiating with, so none of this is a surprise. And it also won’t be a surprise if, in a week or three, Trump goes into TACO mode, suddenly becomes a lot more reasonable, and a deal gets made after all.
Also, if Trump is being unreasonable (and I have no reason to doubt Carney’s assertion that he was), the best way to deal with it is the best way to deal with any bully: by showing strength. Whatever the short-run costs of that strategy will be, they will pale in comparison to the long-term costs of failing to show strength.