So far, to the best of our knowledge, neither Canada nor Mexico has made any appreciable effort to revise trade agreements with the United States.
Maybe this will cause them to move it along.
From James Edwards’ article at Benzinga, via msn.com:
Trump Wins Manufacturing Deal in Blow to Canada
Honda reportedly plans to move production of key vehicle models from Canada and Mexico to U.S. factories to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities. The shift aims to reduce the impact of rising tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. Reports say Honda will relocate production of popular models like the Civic and CR-V from Canada and the HR-V from Mexico to U.S. plants, allowing the company to respond to market needs and adjust pricing more effectively.
A Honda Canada spokesperson stated, “This is not an official announcement from Honda. We cannot comment specifically on today’s news. However, we assure that our Alliston plant will continue to operate at full capacity and that we are always exploring options to adapt our production plans as necessary to address business impacts.”
Currently, about 70% of Honda vehicles sold in the U.S. are made domestically, including the Accord, Pilot, Odyssey, and Ridgeline. The “sell where you build” initiative aims to increase domestic production further.
The U.S. market represents about 40% of Honda’s global sales, with roughly 1.42 million vehicles sold annually. To meet growing production needs, Honda will expand its U.S. factories from two shifts to three, creating new jobs.
Would Honda have made this decsion if Trump had left things the way they were and not imposed the tariffs? No one can know for 100% certain. But what we do know for 100% certain is that Trump did impose the tariffs and Honda did make the decision.
If I were newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and recently elected Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum, that would be saying something to me. Loud and clear.
And it would be saying the same thing, just as loud and clear, to the other countries around the world that risk losing big-time if they don’t sit down with Trump and work out mutually agreeable trade policies….
….which, though I certainly don’t claim to be a fortune teller, I fully expect is going to be happening over the next few weeks.
We’ll see.
And if that happens, we almost certainly will also see Trump’s approval ratings reverse field and start moving back up…along with the stock market (which, since it has risen to its highest level in a month, may already be anticipating that this is going to happen).
Uh, Canada?????? Mexico???????
