CANADA/MEXICO/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It was a jubilant day for North America. At least, it looked that way to leaders in Mexico City and Ottawa. Steel tariffs had just been lifted across the continent. Relieved Canadians had responded by introducing a bill to implement USMCA, the Trump administration’s signature trade deal, and Mexico had just followed suit on Thursday [5-30-19]. Vice President Mike Pence was in Ottawa to celebrate the progress and cheer on America’s neighbors. Within hours, the moment of continental comity blew up with two tweets from President Donald Trump. Trump’s sudden declaration of new tariffs on Mexico last Thursday evening delivered immediate whiplash, a jolt for two countries that had — for a moment — thought they might be coming off the Trump roller coaster…Officials in Mexico and Canada in recent days kicked into gear with playbooks they’ve each used repeatedly in navigating a fractious relationship with Trump over the past two years. They’re deploying lessons other nations have come to learn as well: stay calm, speak the American president’s language and find Trump-friendly voices who can lean on him to deescalate the tensions.”
–Sabrina Rodriuez and Alexander Panetta, “Trump’s trade war gobsmacks Mexico and Canada,” Politico, June 4, 2019 10:10 pm