Here It Comes: The Canadian-American Trade War

by JASmius



And all over Keystone XL:

The Canadian company involved in the controversy-plagued Keystone XL project has begun planning its response as indications mount the proposed oil pipeline will be rejected by Barack Obama…

They're only now getting that message?  Almost seven years of stalling wasn't enough of a dead giveaway?

[P]eople close to the project say the company has become all but convinced a rejection is imminent based on signals the White House is sending publicly and privately — and it’s now considering the next move.

I can't imagine why O would bother summarily rejecting it now when continued naked stalling is doing the job quite nicely without stirring up any mini-hornets' nests.  Other than to engage in yet another in-your-face end zone celebration as part of his "I'm free to be the president I always wanted to be" gimmick.

One possible response is a challenge under the North American Free Trade Agreement to recoup damages from the U.S. government. Another is immediately re-filing a permit application with the U.S. State Department before the 2016 presidential election.

I rather hope they opt for the former option, even though it evidently has little chance of success, certainly in the near term.  After all, TransCanada is being compelled to build an alternative pipeline all on their own territory at much greater cost than Keystone XL would have run them.  It seems eminently reasonable that Barack Obama should have to reimburse the Canadians that cost, even if not out of his own pocket.  And the specter of one of America's closest allies launching a trade war against us in retaliation for The One's long-running perfidy, environmental extremism, and anti-capitalist hostility would make a much more representative foreign policy legacy - at least until Israeli, European, and American cities start going up in Iranian mushroom clouds.

For those who still think Keystone XL might be possible, the latter option is the one for which to root.  But given the fact that Barack Obama got elected and re-elected, and a large portion of the Republican base is being willfully hoodwinked by a Democrat mole like Donald Trump, could anybody blame the Canadians for not being too awfully eager to gamble on the cognitive learning abilities of the American voter?