REGINA, Sask. — The trade dispute between Canada and the U.S. is becoming an election issue in the U.S. midterms, with one Republican Senate candidate publicly breaking ranks with the White House on the issue.
This week, Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers put out an election ad calling for an end to the trade dispute with Michigan’s cross-border neighbour. In that ad, Rogers was seen sitting in a bar with a Detroit Red Wings NHL logo prominently displayed in the background.
“Drinking a Labatt’s and watching the Red Wings — man, it just doesn’t get any more Michigan than that,” Rogers said in the ad.
“And here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war, now.”
Rogers said that as Michigan senator, “I’ll bring both parties together to lower your prices. That’s job number one.”
He went on to blast his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, as wanting to “hit Michigan families with a $3,000 tax increase — the biggest in history.” Rogers said that only he would “actually put dollars back in your pocket.”
The ad drew some cynicism in comments on social media, with commenters pointing to previous Rogers statements in favour of White House policies on trade.
Still, the latest call by Rogers to end the trade war stands in contrast to the rhetoric and social media posts coming from President Donald Trump over the last number of weeks that have targeted Canada.
The latest indication is that the talk is showing no signs of abating. When asked at the White House about Rogers’ campaign ad, Trump told reporters that he viewed “him as saying that he thinks Canada should make a deal.”
Trump then returned to criticizing Canada on trade.
“Look, Canada‘s been ripping off our country for many, many years, tremendously ripping off,” said Trump, pointing to one-way 400 per cent tariffs on dairy products. He also claimed the U.S. was losing $90 billion in business with Canada.
“We don’t need Canada for anything,” Trump said, accusing Canada of having been “very difficult to deal with.”
The campaign commercial from Rogers points to the kind of pressure many Republicans are under in this election cycle, with many polls pointing to Republicans trailing in several key Senate and House races.
Campaign issues in the midterms have focused largely on affordability concerns, especially connected to the war with Iran and rising fuel and diesel prices.
But the trade dispute with Canada is proving to be an issue in some northern states that do heavy cross-border trade, and other GOP candidates have also been distancing themselves from the tariffs.
In Maine, where Republican Susan Collins is in a re-election battle for her U.S. Senate seat, she has also distanced herself from the trade war by publicly calling the Trump tariffs on Canada a “mistake.” On the campaign trail, Collins also pointed to her own efforts to get Canadian road salt exempted from the tariffs.
The most recent distancing by Rogers from the “tariff war” is particularly notable, as Michigan is home to the U.S. auto industry — with the return of auto industry jobs to Michigan being a major focus of the Trump administration.
If Republicans were hoping that issue would be a slam-dunk winner in Michigan this election cycle, so far that is not proving to be the case. Current polling in the Michigan Senate race shows Rogers and El-Sayed in a close race.
In speaking to SaskToday earlier this week, business commentator Paul Martin pointed to the particular focus by Trump on the auto industry and on using tariffs to target auto industry jobs in Canada.
“It is, absolutely, and I mean that's Trump's stated view, he wants auto industry back in the U.S…. he wants manufacturing plants in the U.S., and auto is the one he sees as really important,” said Martin.
“So what's that mean for us? You know, it's going to be a tough one for us to resist, and the Auto Pact's been around for 60-70 years, or more than that, and then followed with, you know, the Reagan-Mulroney trade deal, and then ultimately the USMCA-CUSMA versions with Mexico.”
Martin believes this may be a situation where the Canadian auto industry needs to rely more heavily on European or Japanese car manufacturers, or even develop a Canadian car of its own.
But Martin adds that “yes, it is central Canada that's been targeted. Why? Because President Trump has in his head, he wants more manufacturing. Western Canada is not a manufacturing hub like it is in central Canada, so they naturally become the target.”
