Readers Write: Trade war, Elon Musk

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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I realized at the end of Justin Trudeau’s speech on Saturday night that I’d forgotten what diplomacy looks like. I think a lot of us have. Sitting in my living room in St. Peter, Minn., and watching the speech via a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. livestream, I wondered how many other Americans were seeing it live. Was it on the networks? Would it make headlines on Sunday?

Based on what I’ve read, heard, and seen here in the land of the free over the last week, it’s pretty clear that the U.S. thinks “trade war” is just a catchy phrase. Trudeau’s speech made it clear that Canada knows the stakes are much higher than that, for all of us living on the beautiful chunk of land called North America.

Trudeau knew this was a historic speech, and he gave it the attention it deserved. He spoke directly to the American people, laying out the economic impact of these unprecedented tariffs in clear, understandable terms. He highlighted the 150+ year partnership between the U.S. and Canada — World Wars, the Iranian hostage crisis, 9/11, the war in Afghanistan, and maple-leaf-flagged water bombers winging south to defend the West Coast from forest fires — a partnership viewed by many as the strongest in the world. He was calm, reasonable and confident but not threatening.

Trudeau announced a slate of Canadian economic sanctions in response to the American tariffs. Then he spoke to the Canadian people, warning them that the coming days ahead will be difficult. He knows that a trade war doesn’t help anyone — Americans, Canadians or Mexicans.

When he took questions from the press, Trudeau provided hard data in response to Donald Trump’s stated rationale that the American tariffs are because Canada lets too much fentanyl across the border. He highlighted the $1.3 billion investment that the Canadians recently made in border security in response to Trump’s demands. And again, he remained calm, reasonable and confident throughout.

On Saturday night, Trudeau showed us — or rather, reminded us — what thoughtful national leadership and high-level political diplomacy look like. We’ll see what happens next.

JJ Akin, St. Peter, Minn.

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I have a vivid memory of sitting with my family in the Roy Wilkins Auditorium for the winter carnival parade when a delegation from Canada came into the arena only days after Canada provided sanctuary for Americans in Iran. They were greeted by a long, standing, cheering welcoming crowd. Monday’s news reported a long, standing, booing crowd in Canada when the U.S. was either mentioned or introduced. Sad!

Philip Fabel, St. Paul

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Implicit in President Trump’s economic warfare against Canada and Mexico — two of our largest and closest trade partners — is that the U.S. doesn’t need allies. We can stand alone while Iran, Russia, China and North Korea increasingly collaborate on advancing autocracy. Meanwhile, GOP members of Congress sit on their hands while the U.S. swiftly becomes less secure in an increasingly dangerous world.

Patrick Hamilton, St. Paul

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This is in response to “Trump puts tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, spurring trade war as North American allies respond” (StarTribune.com, Feb. 2). This article shows Trump’s true intentions when it comes to tariffs.

He does not care about the well-being of the American people, including his own supporters. From conversations that I have personally had, a large part of why many voted for Trump is that he claimed he would lower grocery prices, yet this move will do the opposite. He stated on Truth Social that there may be pain that will come from this for Americans. Prices will increase due to the tariffs, as economists have been warning since before the election. Not only did Trump not listen, neither did his supporters.

While Trump is golfing in Florida, Americans will be suffering the consequences of his actions. That is primarily due to willful ignorance. More than 77 million people voted for this, whether they admit it or not. So many people voted for him “for the economy” without actually looking at his economic policies. Voters chose to remain uneducated, which is one of the most disappointing aspects of the entire situation. While Trump has lied about many things, he was forthcoming about his plans to impose tariffs, but many never took the time to truly understand what that means. Overall, while this is a reflection of Trump’s need for power, it is also reflection of the American peoples’ willingness to remain uneducated, and that is a problem.

Kendyll Meilander, Winona

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If the roles were reversed, and a more powerful foreign bully threatened the American economy, would any American just fold down and grovel? Do any of you really believe that Canadians and Mexicans lack enough pride and resolve to pay any price and endure any burden in order to defend their rights and dignity? This is the same arrogance that led America to think in 1964 that the Vietnamese would call it quits after just a few bombing runs, or that the Iraqi insurgents in 2003 or the Taliban in 2001 would stop resisting once American military might was employed. The Vietnamese, Iraqis and the Taliban outlasted America, so will Mexico and Canada.

Francisco Gonzalez, Cottage Grove

As of this weekend, Elon Musk aides, without any security clearance, accessed sensitive U.S. financial records. Even if you voted for Trump, you probably didn’t vote for an unelected billionaire in a made-up department having this much power. He has already begun freezing agencies he is opposed to. If you live in the Minnesota districts with Republican representatives, you need to contact those representatives and let them know that this is unacceptable. Not just unacceptable, it is unconstitutional. This is truly a national emergency. Find this story and educate yourselves.

Phyllis Marsili, Roseville

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The Trump administration’s freeze on foreign assistance provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development this weekend means that the U.S. could cease its long, compassionate outreach to provide emergency care for people around the world suffering from famine, natural disasters, disease and provide veterinary care for their animals.

This administrative “efficiency” czar Musk’s cost-cutting action is in full knowledge that, without USAID, the human condition in many countries will rapidly deteriorate with massive population displacements and staggering mortality rates. The ideology behind this action engenders conspiracy theories of population-reduction and capitalistic isolationism, but is fundamentally inhumane, where the rich no longer help those in need.

As a veterinarian who has served poor communities in India in need of veterinary services at my late wife Deanna Krantz’s animal refuge in south India, I am appalled by this USAID closure that has done so much good for animals around the world. For details see this archive link (as of writing, the website is currently shut down): tinyurl.com/usaid-success.

These veterinary services are essential contributions to animal health and welfare, local economies, public health, and protect wildlife from diseases transmitted by domestic animals that veterinary services prevent.

Michael W. Fox, Golden Valley

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The American people have spoken with Trump’s popular vote. We are tired of being spoken to like imbeciles. Stop the “Trump/Nazi” false rhetoric. It’s disgusting, untrue, and anyone who watched the full clip of Elon Musk celebrating Trump’s victory could easily see it was not the foul Nazi salute you leftist folk continue to try and promote (“When is a Nazi salute not a Nazi salute? (Hint: Never),” Feb. 1). Enough is enough.

Jodi Swaim, Edina

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And again, the picture of Musk giving the Nazi salute was run with a Saturday column. Why does the media continue to run this picture? For many who survived this tragic period in history, the photo is bone chilling and can conjure up many horrific events. One has only to see the numbers tattooed on a concentration-camp survivor’s arm to remember that those responsible were the same as those doing the salute. Continuing to run this photo only brings increased attention to Musk and his inhumane and moronic actions.

Ursula Krawczyk, St. Paul