Only On The Walters Post!
Lately, there’s been a lot of noise about car prices going up, and just like always, the blame is being tossed around like a hot potato. This time, they’re saying it’s because of a trade war, with tariffs flying back and forth between Canada and the U.S.
But let’s slow down and look at what’s really going on.
President Trump hasn’t slapped a 25% tariff on finished cars coming from Canada. That’s not what’s happening here. What he’s talking about, and has been pushing—is a tariff on imported auto parts, especially those coming from outside the U.S., like China or Mexico. So it’s not the whole car—it’s the pieces. Big difference.
Now, Canada didn’t just sit back. We fired back with our own counter-tariffs. If an American-made vehicle has parts that aren’t from Canada and it doesn’t meet the CUSMA rules, (Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement) that part of the vehicle gets hit with a 25% tariff on the way into Canada. That means things are getting tangled up fast.
So where does this leave the average working Canadian? Standing at the dealership, wondering why prices are climbing, when most of the cars were already overpriced before this nonsense started.
Truth is, there’s a glut of unsold vehicles. Lots are packed. Sales are soft. And they’re not soft because of tariffs, they’re soft because again… vehicles cost too damn much to begin with, and our economy is already hurting.
What we’re seeing now is just another excuse. Another way to quietly raise prices and blame someone else. And I’ll tell you, this isn’t about protecting industry, in my mind, it’s about protecting profit.
What we really need, plain and simple, is for the powers that be to stop taxing the paychecks of the working man and woman completely. Every time we turn around, there’s a new deduction, a new fee, a new excuse for why we can’t keep what we earn. It’s wrong. We are the ones keeping this country going, building, farming, fixing, teaching, raising families—-and we get punished for it, while the suits up top live off our backs without lifting a calloused finger.
Bottom line is this; Let a person keep “every” dollar they earn, and you’d see real change overnight. Folks would have more to spend, more to save, more to invest in their families and communities. Small businesses would thrive and local economies would pick up steam. That’s how you build a strong nation folks—not by squeezing the life out of the very people holding it together.
Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive! GW