Certain uncertainty - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin

As the editorial team here at The Citizen wraps up its work on the “Salute to Agriculture” special issue that will greet you next week, there were discussions about trying to cover the impact that potential tariffs, renegotiated deals, whatever, being imposed - or not - by U.S. President Donald Trump would have on local agriculture. That is, clearly, an impossible task with the chaos being sown and at such a rapid pace.

 

I’m doing one story about the rise of the “Buy Canadian” movement with some local farmers and shops that sell Canadian goods directly to locals and even that, established, relatively, as it is, has proven to be a challenge. 

 

Last Monday, when Trump addressed the Joint Session of Congress, he seemed to double down on the idea of tariffs to Canada and Mexico. The next day, he delayed them for another month, pushing them until April 2. The day after that, he mused about slapping dairy from Canada with a 250 per cent tariff. His Secretary of Commerce insisted that the U.S. will not plunge into a recession as a result of the trade wars the country has picked with his partners (like you can guarantee such a thing) only for Trump - the font of truth himself - to refuse to rule it out later that day. I’m writing this column on Friday. I should almost leave a few lines’ space for the other changes he’ll implement - or not - in the days between now and our Tuesday deadline.

 

How in the hell is anybody, let alone a weekly newspaper, supposed to cover such developments when they are changing - likely by design and using worldwide chaos as a strategy or due to senility - by the minute?

 

We don’t know, I can tell you that much, and we have been struggling to find a way to do it. Even in last week’s issue there was talk of the tariffs that were, by the time it reached readers, walked back. Not only is it impossible to nail down who to speak with, what to cover and what to say with the story, but I’ve found that, to go even further, the people I have tried to interview don’t know what to say either, because nothing is certain these days.

 

Stock markets are plunging, Trump’s targets are retaliating and, for once, many are opting not to play his games. He imposes tariffs, then pulls them back, then brings them back, then pulls them back again. April 2 is now the date, until, you know, it isn’t. So it’s been refreshing to see Canadian leaders, both federally and provincially, decide not to play ball. Their retaliatory tariffs are in place until this is no longer a discussion. And then, like the true bully he is, Trump is crying foul. He’s started a fight and pulled his punches, only to take one on the chin and now he seeks sympathy. He insists that Canada and others are the unfair ones, taking advantage of the U.S. There was a six-hour stretch on Monday in which he posted over 100 times on Truth Social, the idiotic social media platform he created (that stock is in the toilet too, along with anything that has the Nazi-salute stench of Elon Musk). What an absolute mess; who could possibly keep up?

 

The moral of the story, I suppose, is that there is likely to be minimal mention of the Cheeto in Chief in next week’s special section because it’s pretty tough to nail down what he plans to do next, how long it will be in effect and whether he’ll pull it the very next day.

 

Stability is something that most nations strive for and, in an effort to destabilize much of the rest of the world, Trump has, perhaps not surprisingly, destabilized his own country as well. Day by day, hour by hour, uncertainty is sown and no one knows what to expect next. 

 

What a time to be alive!