Trump’s Dream of Energy Dominance Relies on Canada
Why risk our relationship with a giant, friendly oil producer that US refiners depend upon?
Trading partners.
Photographer: Brett Gundlock/Bloomberg
In theory, President Donald Trump’s threat of sweeping tariffs against Canada, a major oil producer, fits with his desire for US “energy dominance.” In practice, the drive for dominance has relied heavily on Canadian oil.
Trump’s animus is mercurial, encompassing everything from securing the US-Canadian border to, most grotesquely, erasing that border. Whatever the cause, this is the largest trading relationship for both countries and energy, especially oil, defines it. The US imports more oil from Canada than all other foreign countries combined. Strip out that import bill and the US trade deficit with Canada would flip to a surplus.