Plain and Simple, Loud and Clear

Hey! Remember us? We're your neighbour, just on your northern border on this great continent of North America... And psst, we're your largest trading partner. And friends, yes, that too. We share a language, and many values and some elements of culture and tradition, though we like to think we're ourselves and not entirely like you. We're Canadians - Canada - remember now?

And we're becoming exceedingly nervous. Oh, at first we were just as ecstatic as y'all, when we heard of the coming of the American future in the guise of a kind of social saviour with that unusual name. And we liked what we saw, and appreciated what we heard - most of it, anyway. We certainly did like his presence, his unabashed and calm demeanour, his communication skills.

His name now, and the arc of his administration's movement toward unilateralism in trying to solve your country's economic dilemma sounds a tocsin for a toxic trading future among all your allies, including your closest. And that is a situation that does no one any good. It will tarnish your reputation even further. Above all, it demonstrates a level of hypocrisy unpalatable beyond words.

Truth is, most Canadians still quote some of those pithy observations of his and repeat his promises, although placing them in an entirely different context, another country altogether. All of a sudden, though, your salvation appears to be our damnation. Financially, that is. As trading partners, as trusted friends and neighbours. Yes, during the campaign there were some rumours, then downplayed.

Whaaat? Have you entirely forgotten the North American Free Trade Agreement? No one, least of all Canada, forced that upon the great United States of America. But our trading partnership was so close anyway, just like our then-undefended border, we just mutually, in reciprocal regard, kind of thought we'd drop most of those trading barriers, like customs taxes and tariffs.

Result? We've the world's most highly integrated economies, our industries are inter-reliant, and hundreds of thousands, if not millions of jobs have resulted from NAFTA. Sure, Canada is accustomed to the U.S. Congress throwing its weight around when it comes to trade disputes, trying to override the neutrality of NAFTA's tribunal for dispute resolution.

Succeeding, too, however much it goes against the spirit of NAFTA. Big Brother, we're so much smaller, less aggressive, imbued with far less power, we accept that thin end of the stick. But look, cross-border goods and services flow amounted to almost $700-billion in the last year alone. You take up about four-fifths of our exports, and we over one-fifth of yours. That's considerable economic leverage.

Uncle Sam, listen: we represent a larger market for American goods and services than the combined twenty-seven countries making up the European Union. You're frantically searching for economic renewal, desperately trying to dredge yourselves out of the swamp of failure your financial instruments have created. We understand that.

We represent part of the solution. Our mutual interests remain capable of improving the already-successful productivity and efficiency of our integrated economies; protectionism - which is what you've begun to embark upon so alarmingly to us and to the rest of the world - will destroy your ability to swiftly rebound, and ours as well.

Listen, the international community is urging you to reject xenophobic reaction to this recession. Do not, repeat, do not become a free-trade rejectionist state. Honour your international obligations. As you solemnly said you would. Scrub that "Buy American" clause. It's claustrophobic and dishonourable.