The Lutnick story was all over the news this past week. You know the guy…the one with the constant smirk…Epstein’s friend… I don’t believe for a minute the “officials” clarification.
April 17, 2026
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick blasted Canada’s trade strategy, stating “they suck,” during Semafor’s World Economy Summit on Friday.
“That is the worst strategy I’ve ever heard,” Lutnick told Semafor’s Ben Smith, referring to a suggestion from Canada’s former trade chief that the country could benefit from slow-walking trade negotiations with the U.S. amid mounting political pressure against Trump.
Lutnick criticized Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has also been criticized by President Trump while winning praise from some Trump critics for comments at the Davos Economic Forum.
“Look we are a $30 trillion economy right? We are the consumer of the world,” Lutnick said. “Carney has a problem with us. He gets on a plane and he goes to China. Does he think the Chinese economy’s going to buy his stuff? China is entirely an export driven economy. So what did he do? He came back and he said ‘Oh we’ll take their electric cars.’ I mean, is this nuts?”
Source: The Hill
USTR Greer was at it as well….saying (among all kinds of other things) that the U.S. just might have to have to impose enforcement action if Canada did not end the bans on U.S. alcohol sales. Prime Minister Carney was quick to point out that they only exist because the U.S. broke their CUSMA commitments with Canada.
April 23, 2026
…Carney bristled at a question about U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s threat Wednesday to levy retaliatory measures against Canada if the liquor boycott continues.
While testifying before Congress, Greer said: “My sense is there may have to be an enforcement action to deal with this issue on wine and spirits in Canada.” He did not offer any specifics.
“You know what’s an irritant? A 50 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum, 25 per cent on automobiles, all of the tariffs on forest products. Those are more than irritants. Those are violations of our trade deal, OK?” Carney said.
And, I suppose because even the minions have to prove they can be as outrageous as the bosses, Deputy USTR weighed in…
A senior trade official in the U.S. administration says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s current strategy to “antagonize” U.S. President Donald Trump is certainly impacting negotiations around the review of the North American free trade deal.
Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Rick Switzer made the comments on April 22 during a conversation with the Council on Foreign Relations, an American think tank.
Switzer said Canada and certain other countries have chosen to make their disputes with the United States “personal,” to their detriment.
“I think Carney has made it personal. I think it’s political malpractice for the prime minister of Canada to pit, politically, himself against any president,” he said.
Switzer works under U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who also criticized Canada during his congressional testimony on April 22. Greer said the Canadian and U.S. economic models “don’t fit together very well,” citing Ottawa’s pursuit of greater “globalization” while saying Washington seeks to “correct for the problems of globalization.”
Switzer said Mexico has been working more cooperatively than Canada with the United States to resolve trade issues ahead of the July review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
The trade official attributed the discrepancy to the leadership of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, saying she recognizes the importance of the U.S. economic relationship and is willing to work through issues to avoid jeopardizing ties.
Source: Epoch Times
We’ve heard this kind of thing before…and we will certainly hear it again. But I’m starting to wonder whether the “hegemon doth protest too much”. Some of this looks alot like gaslighting and a sign of where things are starting to hurt them. Only time will tell.
While it does nothing to increase my abandoned affection for the U.S., there is at least someone in the U.S. who is still seeing clearly.
April 22, 2026
During a separate hearing Wednesday at the U.S. Senate appropriations committee, Lutnick called Canadian bans on U.S. alcohol “insulting” and “disrespectful to America.”
“Absolutely,” Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire responded. “And they won’t do it because of the insults from this president and comments like yours.”
“We’re not going to get agreement (on trade issues) when we keep insulting people,” she added later. “When we have allies and partners, we should try and work with them, not insult them. And I find your rhetoric insulting.”
See her full statement here
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