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Donald Trump’s counterparts learned best practices during his first term

Published: 11 December 2024

Donald Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian steel before and also lifted them. And then imposed them again. The on-again, off-again tariff truce cycle has played out in multiple industries, and Canada can expect more incendiary rhetoric on trade in a second Trump term, writes Professor Vivek Astvansh in The Conversation Canada. So how should Canada engage with Trump’s theatrical approach to politics? “Ideally, leaders talk to each other and resolve disagreements,” says Astvansh. Of course, with Trump, there are never guarantees of the fruitfulness of such talks. “Most of his counterparts now recognize that retaliating with countermeasures, trying to be muted in their own rhetoric and hoping for a truce a few months later is the best way to handle him.”

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