Our Enemy, Canada<\/p>\n
US Constitution, Article 1, \u00a78<\/em><\/p>\n On December 7th<\/sup>, 1941, the day that \u201cwill live in infamy,\u201d the United States was attacked by Japan.\u00a0 The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt went to the Congress and asked them to declare war.\u00a0 It was the last time war was declared by the United States, even though we have fought five major wars since.<\/p>\n The Cold War changed all of that.\u00a0 When we arrived in the era with the specter of nuclear destruction hovering over every facet of American life, there was no time for the niceties of Congressional judgment.\u00a0 As a second grader, hiding in the hallway of an elementary school in primary target zone Detroit, I was prepared for a nuclear detonation:\u00a0 head between my knees, hands over the back of my head, eyes firmly closed to the flash.\u00a0 It could happen; less than an hour from start to finish.\u00a0 Congress didn\u2019t have a chance.<\/p>\n Congress, in recognition of the immediacy of war, began to divest its powers to the President.\u00a0 While they retained \u201cultimate\u201d authority, it was clear that the US government needed to be able to act quickly to defend itself. \u00a0It originally was the war making powers, but later devolved into the power to respond economically if a nation threatened our \u201csecurity\u201d through its trade practices.<\/p>\n There were two implications in this transfer of power.\u00a0The first was that while Congress might give immediate decision making away, it retained the ability to reconsider.\u00a0And second, that since the power was given by Congress, they could take it back.<\/p>\n Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the same year I was hiding in the hallway, allows the Secretary of Commerce to defend our \u201cnational security\u201d industries by controlling tariffs.\u00a0 Under the terms of this section, the Secretary declares that an industry, vital to our national security, needs to be protected.\u00a0 He can then set a higher tariff (tax on imports) on competing goods from other countries.<\/p>\n Last week, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross declared that Canada, yes Canada, was a danger to US national security because of the competition of Canadian steel and aluminum with US products. \u00a0He instituted a 25% tariff on Canadian steel, and a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum.<\/p>\n Since Franklin Roosevelt declared the \u201cday of infamy;\u201d for the purposes of national security Canadian steel and aluminum production was considered part of the US production.\u00a0 It made sense, our \u201creal\u201d national security was tied to Canada; during the Cold War, it was a string of US radar bases, the DEW line (distant early warning) in Canada that kept us aware of the Soviet missile actions.\u00a0 In World War II and every war since, Canadian troops have fought, as Prime Minister Trudeau stated, \u201c\u2026shoulder to shoulder\u201d with US troops.\u00a0They have been our truest ally. \u00a0But now they’re not.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t really about national security; it\u2019s about leverage.\u00a0 Secretary Ross is in negotiations with Canada and Mexico over NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement.)\u00a0 President Trump spent his campaign railing against NAFTA (at least in part because it was negotiated by his opponent\u2019s husband) and is set on making dramatic changes.\u00a0 Canada and Mexico were willing to come to the table, but aren\u2019t moving as quickly as Ross wants.<\/p>\n And the President claims that the US steel industry will have a rebirth, much like the coal industry.\u00a0 It was a campaign promise, as unlikely as it is to occur.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s about money and politics, not security.<\/p>\n The consequences are serious.\u00a0 First we are in the process of alienating one of our firmest allies.\u00a0 We have completely changed the rules of our relationship, without notice or seeming cause.\u00a0 It has already strained our relationship, and real damage is not far away.<\/p>\n Second the costs of tariffs aren\u2019t borne by the producers, but by the consumers.\u00a0 In real terms, “We the People, of the United States,” \u00a0will pay the cost of these tariffs, through higher prices in construction and vehicles and beer cans and all the other products made with aluminum and steel.<\/p>\n And where is Congress?\u00a0 A clear majority of both the House and Senate are opposed to these tariffs.\u00a0 Will Congress take their Constitutional authority back?\u00a0If they did, perhaps they might take a few more back as well, including their control of America going to war.\u00a0But don\u2019t hold your breath.\u00a0 We are more likely to go to war…with Canada.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n