This video from the Promethean Action PAC wraps in a few background details that most readers and followers of the U.S-Canada trade relationship will likely find interesting.

Susan Kokinda argues the dispute is larger than USMCA negotiations, portraying Canada as an “outlaw” that enables transshipment “smuggling,” fails to enforce forced-labor bans, and facilitates “snow-washing” through weak corporate transparency and money laundering documented in British Columbia’s Cullen Commission.

She contrasts U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s pro-development case for oil and gas as civilizational progress with Canadian Minister Mélanie Joly’s Chatham House speech promoting “geo-industrialization” and a Mark Carney-aligned “middle powers” strategy against U.S. and China “hegemons.” Kokinda highlights a House of Commons petition led by Green Party leader Elizabeth May to declare U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra persona non grata, and notes Joly’s outreach to U.S. lawmakers and cities during the trade fight.  WATCH:

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Earlier today following a meeting in Washington, D.C., between Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, both representatives delivered remarks to reporters.  There are no details provided, however, within his remarks, Greer says he is confident that a deal has been reached as they work to finalize the details.

USTR Greer notes the significant trade barriers between the U.S. and Canada appear to have been resolved. However, the devil is going to be in the details.  Greer noted they are putting together the documentation that will allow him to brief President Trump and congress on the proposals.  “While we certainly have eliminated some of the irritants we have had over the past several years, we are also taking a strong foot forward,” Greer remarked. WATCH:  

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Given the antagonistic nature of Canada and their dependency on retaining an assembly economy with access to the U.S. market, it will be interesting to see what non-tariff barrier positions the Canadian government is willing to put forth.

There is a lot of optimism in media surrounding the tariff pause and the remarks that have followed; but I would caution interested parties to be aware of the scale of the divide between the two sides.

President Trump’s remarks from today about the Canada-U.S. trade position are below.

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The timing of these events is remarkable. Almost so remarkable that one might think they are intentionally sequenced.

It started yesterday when the very popular former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov issued a striking warning about Ukraine’s government, corruption, and the need to develop an immediate mechanism for elections even while the war against Russia continues.

There is a great deal of support for Mykhailo Fedorov within Ukraine, as many people see him as a stronger and yet more pragmatic representative of the people.  Fedorov holds strongest support from those under 50 years old, and yesterday he diplomatically called for Ukraine to organize elections in order to retain position as a democracy.

VIA CBS – The former defense minister acknowledged the difficulties of holding a vote during the war, including how to ensure soldiers, people who live near the front line and Ukrainians who fled the war can cast their ballots.  “This is complex. … But complexity does not mean impossibility,” Fedorov said. (Citation)

In the background, the frustration of the Ukrainian people is bubbling up to the surface. In part because the hunters the Zelenskyy regime has hired to go find conscripts are now seen as living a life of indulgence.  The conscript hunters who take the men off the streets are earning $150k targeting their own people for forced military service. The people are furious.

Simultaneous to this public statement about elections released by Fedorov, the anti-corruptions agencies in Ukraine announced investigations directly related to Zelenskyy’s government itself.  It looks like Fedorov knew this was coming.

UKRAINE – Ukraine’s ⁠anti-graft agencies ​said on Wednesday ​they had uncovered a group including a presidential official ​that ‌had laundered ⁠150 million hryvnias ($3.35 ‌million) used to pay for bail ⁠in an energy corruption scheme.

Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies launched a ​special operation against lawmakers and presidential advisers on Wednesday, hours before a key vote in parliament for a new defence ​minister ‌aimed at cementing a shake-up by President ⁠Volodymyr Zelensky.

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President Trump has paused the 50% tariffs set to go into effect against Canada at midnight.

According to media reports, after the Canadian trade delegation failed to come to a negotiated settlement on key USMCA terms, Prime Minister Mark Carney called President Trump earlier today to discuss the tariffs that were scheduled to begin tomorrow.

President Trump has announced a pause via Truth Social:

[SOURCE]

I’m curious to see how this works out.  Apparently, there’s something about the Keystone XL Pipeline in a deal.

UPDATE:

Congratulations Mr. President. The deal will include comprehensive market access for all American goods, economic security commitments, digital trade alignment, and many important provisions that will continue to protect our market and American workers, along with our Canadian… https://t.co/YSQ4rNmKAv

— United States Trade Representative (@USTradeRep) August 19, 2026

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35-year-old Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov was removed from his position about a month ago.  Despite being heralded as the reason for Ukraine’s successful defense and strikes against Russia, there was internal friction about control of the war spending (ie ‘procurement). The old guard military leaders were unwilling to give up their ability to enrich themselves and their families, Fedorov was removed by President Zelenskyy.

In this CBS interview with Fedorov the young outsider, who is still connected to the war effort and holds strong relationships with both Palantir (Alex Karp) and SpaceX (Elon Musk), outlines the current status of the conflict and gives his predictions on what comes next.

Fedorov states that Ukraine ballistic missiles should be online within three to six months.  He also predicts the ground conflict will be fully autonomous within a year, with robots and drones engaged in most of the combat operations.  As a consequence, Eastern Ukraine is now the real time proving ground for an entirely new type of technological warfare.

The interview is interesting both from a narrative perspective, the Hollywood-lite construct which includes elements of the former ‘find Kony’ performances, the youthful drama – David vs Goliath, the handsome characters etc., and from a perspective of Fedorov’s contemplative responses.  WATCH:

When Fedorov speaks of “destroying 200 Russians” (6:28 of video), he is speaking about destroying the 200 Wildberries warehouses the Ukraine government is convinced will result in the collapse the Russian economy.

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The Canadian trade officials continue to misread the room.  Threatening the Trump administration with something the Trump administration benefits from, is not exactly the best trade strategy.

In the background the DOJ has just arrested a woman for her part in a trafficking operation, smuggling Indian illegal aliens into the USA through Canada {citation}.  Simultaneously, a petition within Canada to remove U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, is gaining support because Hoekstra is focused on American best interests and not looking out for the best interests of Canadians {citation}.

On the economic front, Canadian trade minister Dominic LeBlanc met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for the third time in three weeks. However, it’s Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette, who also participated in discussions, making headlines with threats.

Janice Charette is telling the Canadian public that formal trade discussions with the USA will end if President Trump and USTR Jamieson Greer trigger the 50% tariffs against Canadian goods which are scheduled to begin on August 19th.

President Trump and USTR Greer announced last month the U.S. would begin 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian products. the tariffs are intended as reciprocal action for Canada’s counter-tariffs on U.S. automobiles and steel, as well as decisions by Canadian provinces to boycott American alcohol. {CITATION} According to USTR Greer the tariffs will affect approximately $20 billion in Canadian imports, representing around 5.2% of the $383 billion in goods the United States imported from Canada in 2025. USMCA covered products would not be exempt from the tariff.

Ms. Charette is reported to have made it clear if the U.S. goes through with the tariffs, the Canadians will pull out of USMCA discussions and walk away from renegotiating the trilateral trade agreement.

This is apparently the threat from Canada.  However, when contrast against the intent to eliminate the multilateral trade agreement, the threat carries terms completely acceptable to the Trump administration.

CANADA – Canada’s lead trade negotiator with the U.S. Janice Charette has warned her American counterparts that if the White House imposes new 50 per cent tariffs on Aug. 19, it could put further trade talks at risk.

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I did not know this until I saw it mentioned on X (formerly Twitter).  When a company hires J1 student temporary or season employees, they do not have to pay the 7.5% FICA or Social Security tax on the wages.

If a company hires a seasonal American student, they have to pay the 7.5%. If the company hires a foreign student, they don’t.  This creates a perverse incentive for private equity firms, companies or corporations to hire foreign seasonal workers.  This is true, I checked it out.

[SOURCE – and IRS SOURCE – and Alternate Source]

Apparently, this is now the common approach within the hospitality industry to save money and increase profit from payrolls. Unfortunately, this approach puts young Americans at a disadvantage when seeking summer or short-term seasonal employment.

For fiscal Year 2025: The U.S. State Department processed 506,142 applications and successfully issued 451,803 J-1 visas.

Now, obviously there may be some regions or areas where there are not enough young people to fill the jobs.  However, if you do the math that 7.5% employer contribution saved is a lot of incentive for the corporation to avoid hiring seasonal American workers.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gets it.  When asked about the Strait of Hormuz, Bessent notes that yes, things will likely never return to the way they were before; however, there is a distinction that must be applied.

Even if Iran completely acquiesced to all of the most stringent terms and conditions requested by President Trump, they will never again recapture the position they held with the Strait of Hormuz as a chokepoint.

Capital markets respond to risk in the medium and long term; risks are always mitigated.  With the Strait now identified as a strategic risk, the emphasis will be on forever neutralizing that risk and avoiding the issue in the future.  As a consequence, Iran’s strongest point of leverage is disappearing now and will continue to disappear.  WATCH (prompted):

As further explained by James Thorne on X: “By repeatedly signaling its willingness to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran hasn’t strengthened its hand, it has accelerated the market’s exit. Capital does not tolerate chokepoints; it routes around them.

Saudi Arabia is expanding its East-West pipeline. The UAE has already built out Fujairah as a bypass. Iraq is revisiting overland export corridors. Every marginal dollar now flows toward redundancy, not reliance. What was once a geopolitical lever is being engineered into irrelevance. Bessent gets it: markets don’t absorb coercion; they arbitrage it away.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent continues on two domestic financial approaches to block banking services for illegal aliens and simultaneously target use of the financial system by those engaged in fraud of the U.S. government.

Secretary Bessent has extended the Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) within Minnesota that covers two counties, Hennepin and Ramsey.

All financial transactions over a $3,000 limit are subject to increased reporting requirements and scrutiny from the U.S. treasury.  {citation}

The measure is intended to identify any person who attempts to transfer funds obtained by fraud who operate in the region to take advantage of HHS funding programs. “Treasury promised to follow the money, and that is exactly what we are doing,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “We will continue to give law enforcement critical tools to trace criminal networks that siphon taxpayer dollars and move them overseas.  The Trump Administration will not allow criminals to profit from programs intended to help vulnerable Americans.”

Additionally, the Treasury Department has now concluded the 90-day assessment laid out in an executive order titled “Restoring Integrity to America’s Financial System,” on May 19 and directed the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, FDIC, National Credit Union Administration and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to strengthen customer identification and due-diligence rules and to reassess how banks weigh credit risk for borrowers without work authorization. 

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President Trump gives remarks to an audience in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the administration continues promoting the success of the “no tax on tips” MAGAnomic policy.  WATCH:

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