In 2018, Sen. Dan Sullivan co-sponsored the STOP Act that he said “focuses on stopping the killer drug fentanyl from coming from places like China and Mexico and killing our people.” Even though the bill contained provisions to address drugs coming across the northern border, there’s a reason why he didn’t mention Canada. About 98% of what was seized by Border Patrol agents the prior year was from Mexico.
Now he says there’s enough “fentanyl crossing the northern border to kill more than nine million Americans.”
But while that figure is accurate, today it accounts for only 0.2% of the fentanyl that’s been seized. While at the southern border there was enough to wipe out more than half of the world’s eight billion people.
The reality here is Sullivan was desperate to explain why he opposed a senate resolution that would end the phony presidential emergency that Donald Trump used to justify placing tariffs on Canadian imports.
This story began the day after Trump was inaugurated. “The fentanyl coming through Canada is massive,” he said. “The fentanyl coming through Mexico is massive.” That adjective loses its meaning when used to describe the 43 pounds and 21,148 pounds, respectively, seized at the northern and southern borders.
He also complained that when it comes to trade, “Canada has been very tough to deal with over the years.” That’s despite having negotiated the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) during his first term, which he touted as being the “largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history.”
On Feb. 1, he announced 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico. The Wall Street Journal dubbed it the “Dumbest Trade War in History.”
Canadians weren’t happy that he reneged on the USMCA. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced retaliatory tariffs. Later that day, the two leaders agreed to a 30-day pause.
When the tariffs went into effect in March, Trump paused them on automobiles, auto parts and products manufactured in accordance with the USMCA.
Around the same time, British Columbia Premier David Eby announced new fees on commercial vehicles traveling to Alaska via the Alcan Highway.
Sullivan responded to that as if Canada started the war. “Two can play this game,” he said as he threatened to seek a waiver on the federal law that requires foreign-registered cruise ships to stop in Canada on their way to Alaska. While ignoring the likely negative impacts Trump’s dumb trade war will have on cruise ship bookings, he argued that would boost Alaska’s “economy tremendously.”
And the war got a lot dumber last Wednesday.
Trump imposed tariffs on almost every other country in the world. Most experts pointed out the methods used to calculate them were badly flawed and warned they would cripple the economy.
Plus, the stated objectives conflicted with using tariffs for leverage in trade negotiations.
They were supposed to serve as an incentive for businesses to reinvest in American manufacturing. The revenue they generated would supposedly pay off the federal debt. For both to happen though, they would need to remain in place over the long term.
That’s also true for using tariffs as a means to reduce fentanyl coming in across our borders.
On Monday, Trump sought to squash a rumor that he would pause all tariffs. “Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid!” he wrote in a social media post. “Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”
The same day, he tasked two members of his administration to open negotiations with Japan.
On Tuesday, he said more than 70 countries were clamoring to make a deal. But “our problem is, we can’t see that many that fast.” And even though the tariffs wouldn’t go into effect till Wednesday, he claimed “the tariffs are on and money is pouring in at a level that we’ve never seen before.”
Throughout all this, the stock market was in a steep decline.
Then on Wednesday after the bond market soured, Trump announced a 90-day pause for most countries. The game was still on with Canada though. And he increased tariffs on Chinese imports again.
“Look, nothing’s over yet,” he said.
And that means cheerleaders like Sullivan will be left to concoct lame explanations for everything Trump does during the continuing saga of the dumbest trade war ever.
• Rich Moniak is a Juneau resident and retired civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire. Have something to say? Here’s how to submit a My Turn or letter.
