I was tear-gassed protesting free trade. Now that Trump’s tariffs may signal the beginning of the end of globalization, do I get to say, “I told you so?"
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. We were right. We said jobs would go to low cost countries, hollowing out Canadian manufacturing. They did. The rich got richer and everyone else got poorer. And now resurgent populism.
I guess the question is what we need to do next.
I always liked the idea of globalizing rights: free trade with countries that have similar labour and environmental standards. Maybe that’s the next move? Or are we back to bespoke tariffs on everyone?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. We were right. We said jobs would go to low cost countries, hollowing out Canadian manufacturing. They did. The rich got richer and everyone else got poorer. And now resurgent populism.
I guess the question is what we need to do next.
I always liked the idea of globalizing rights: free trade with countries that have similar labour and environmental standards. Maybe that’s the next move? Or are we back to bespoke tariffs on everyone?