Mavros Whissell is a Sudbury-based geologist and land technicianThis isn’t a trade war; it’s a new Cold War between the US and China.In the Cold War proper, between the US and the USSR, the conflict was conducted militarily by proxy.Trump is no military strategist, but he’s adept at economic warfare. While Russia is struggling not to lose the war in Ukraine, China’s worldwide influence, both economic and military, makes a serious bid for the world’s dominant superpower.Globalism has been knocked for a loop.After less than a month in office, Trump is attempting to reestablish the US as world leader. His introduction of tariffs against Canada (25% and 10% on oil and gas) and Mexico (25%) is paused for a month as those countries capitulate with US demands surrounding border security and illicit drugs. The remaining 10% tariff against China has yet to receive a concrete response. The tariffs target the three top US importers for 2022, but there’s also a subtext.Many Canadians, including pundits at the CBC, are utterly confused by the apparently meaningless attack against Canada. They argue that Trump’s chief justification for overriding the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, to combat the flow of fentanyl into the US, is wholly insufficient against Canada (the RCMP might disagree). Many argue that in a resultant tariff war neither side will benefit. But they’re missing the bigger picture.The hidden message of the tariffs — and it’s barely hidden — is for China.An unclassified report from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) analyzing data from 2019 explains how the flow of fentanyl and its related products and precursors — mostly made in China — are smuggled into Canada and Mexico before being further processed and finally surfacing in the US.An editorial from the Lancet journal reveals that in 2019, there were 15.8 deaths per 100,000 people in the US due to opioids and 6.4 in Canada. That’s roughly three times higher than the homicide rates for those countries in 2019 (5.1 in the US and 1.8 for Canada).Canada’s contribution to the opioid crisis, however it’s spun, is symptomatic of a much larger conflict initiating what may very well be a cold war between China and the US. Under a decade of the federal Liberal’s leadership, Canada has become more of a security risk to itself and its neighbor. This reality is most tangible in the way China has been able to manipulate the Canadian government toward foreign interests, although the state is loath to admit any such influence.The Trudeau Liberals’ foreign interference debacle with China was investigated by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, but she ultimately swept matters under the rug by shifting focus to concerns over “disinformation”, as reported by Global News: “Nowhere in Hogue’s sprawling 860-page final report is it spelled out exactly how disinformation is a greater threat than more traditional forms of foreign interference, such as covertly funnelling money, attempting to influence politicians, messing around in nomination races or intimidating diaspora groups.”How seriously will the US government invest in such a report?In a similar vein, the Liberals initially ignored China’s usurping of Canadian companies. You’d think they would have learned, as former PM Stephen Harper did during the July 2012 takeover of Nexen Inc., that allowing foreign state-controlled companies to encroach on Canadian industry is a serious mistake. The matter reached a turning point when in July 2017, US national security was threatened by the purchase of BC-based Norsat Communications by Southern China’s Hytera Communications. This was well-explained in Jonathan Manthorpe’s Claws of the Panda:“The Norsat sale immediately rang alarm bells at the United States Congressional US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. And no wonder: Norsat’s customers included the US Department of Defence, the US Marine Corps., the US army, aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Ireland’s Department of Defense, the Taiwanese army, and several media organizations, including CBS News and Reuters.”US tariffs against Canada are not meant only to establish an economic advantage. They may come and go. They have all the hallmarks of a proxy war, thankfully relegated to economic warfare. Trump doesn’t want to take the time to negotiate through diplomatic channels, because those are too slow under what he perceives as China’s current threat. He wants Canada to snap to it.Mavros Whissell is a Sudbury-based geologist and land technician
