So Canada wants to pick a tax fight?

American Thinker ^ | 30 Jun, 2025 | Silvio Canto, Jr.

[MtnClimber]

As a Canadian friend told me after the church on Sunday, his compatriots up north need to start thinking about their country and less about hating Trump. It seems that the Canadian version of Trump Derangement Syndrome is alive and well up there. The latest involves President Trump stopping negotiations over a tax. Here is the story:

President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States is immediately “terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada” in response to Ottawa’s decision to impose a digital services tax on American tech firms.

Trump’s surprise announcement on Truth Social accused Canada of “copying the European Union” with the “egregious” tax.

“We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period,” Trump added.

A digital service tax? Why? What local version of a digital service company is it protecting? Furthermore, this tax is inspired by the Europeans? Really? Canada wants to copy the Europeans?

So let's hope that the Carney government comes to its senses and realizes that trade with the U.S. is more important than copying whatever Europe does. Also, there is the whole question of defending Canada, a pretty good deal that our friends up north enjoy. Who protects their airspace and massive coastlines? It's not the underfunded Canadian armed forces. It's not the Europeans either because they've been protected by the U.S. for a long time.

[woodbutcher1963]

Canada is one of our largest trading partners.
We buy a lot of oil and petroleum distilled products from Canada.
Like 100’s of billions of dollars worth.

There was a list of products a few months ago.
Petroleum products was the largest. Automobiles and parts was second.
Lumber is way down the list and is still around 10 BILLION.

[MinorityRepublican]

there is the whole question of defending Canada, a pretty good deal that our friends up north enjoy. Who protects their airspace and massive coastlines?

200% tariffs on Canadian goods until they are paying 5% of their GDP on defense.

[The Great RJ]

Canada is going to hell in a handcart. They have replaced Trudeau’s Marxist laced socialism with a EU globalist who is clueless about how to grow Canada’s economy let alone have a good relationship with their largest trading partner, the largest economy in the world.

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

The DST applies equally to Canadian and US tech firms. Its a tax on consumption, not a tariff. Canadians would have to consume the services of US tech firms anyway because there usually isn’t a Canadian alternative.

It really is dumbfounding why the Trump administration is whining about things like VAT and other taxes that do not convey any advantage to domestic firms in the way tarriffs do.

All governments need to be able to tax internal economic activity in order to function.