For two countries that share the world’s longest international border, the United States and Canada are doing a remarkable impression of neighbors arguing over whose tree dropped leaves into whose yard. Unfortunately, this disagreement involves 50 percent tariffs, billions of dollars in trade, and enough economic collateral damage to make an ordinary property-line dispute look…
The Senate’s New Sanctions Push Against Russia and Iran
The Senate has taken a major step toward dramatically increasing economic pressure on Russia, the countries purchasing its energy, and Iran. In an 86–12 procedural vote, senators advanced the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, although the measure still requires additional votes before it can pass the Senate and move to…
Trump’s New Canada Tariffs and the Debate Over Fair Trade
The latest chapter in the increasingly tense U.S.-Canada relationship involves trade barriers, dairy quotas, provincial liquor bans, automobile policy, and, hovering strangely in the background, wildfire smoke. President Trump has signed three proclamations imposing additional 50 percent tariffs on a range of Canadian imports beginning August 19. The duties will affect nearly $20 billion in…
The U.S.-Spain Trade Standoff
President Trump’s suggestion that the United States should cut off trade with Spain over defense spending is one of those foreign-policy moments where a real issue gets paired with a very Trumpian solution: take a legitimate complaint, attach a flamethrower to it, and see who blinks first. The basic dispute is simple enough. Trump is…
Tariffs, Pills, and Politics: Will 100% Drug Tariffs Fix Anything or Break Everything?
If there’s one issue that reliably unites Americans across the political spectrum, it’s this: prescription drugs cost too much. Whether you’re paying out of pocket, dealing with insurance headaches, or watching premiums creep higher every year, the system feels expensive, opaque, and—at times—downright unfair. So, when President Trump steps in with a bold proposal like…
SCOTUS Draws a Hard Line on Tariffs
The Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down President Trump’s sweeping emergency tariff program wasn’t some vague procedural technicality. It was a direct constitutional confrontation over who has the authority to impose tariffs and how far a president can stretch an emergency statute to achieve economic policy goals. In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Court…
The EU–Mercosur Trade Deal: Strategic Logic Meets Political Reality
Free trade agreements tend to be debated like theology: one side speaks of “prosperity,” the other of “betrayal,” and both sides cherry-pick numbers. The EU–Mercosur deal deserves a more sober appraisal, because it’s not just a trade pact. It’s an attempt to rewire supply chains, industrial strategy, and geopolitical alignment in a decade when tariffs…
Coffee Prices, Baseball Bats, and the Fine Art of Governing Without Losing Our Minds
Sometimes American politics feels like someone dumped a grocery cart, a legal thriller, and a reality show into a blender, hit purée, and said, “Here, taxpayers, drink this.” Yet in the middle of the chaos, we get moments that show how governing actually works: a mix of pressure, course-correction, and the occasional crazy person showing…
Trump’s China Deal Brings Hope to America’s Heartland
Well, it looks like China’s back at the table and they’re hungry for soybeans again. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, China has agreed to buy 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans annually for the next three years. That’s music to the ears of American farmers who’ve been sweating through trade wars, droughts, and…
Trump’s 10% Tariff Threat Over Ontario’s Reagan Ad: Smart Leverage or Overreaction?
Sometimes it feels like President Trump is one headline away from dropping a tariff. This weekend’s flare-up with Canada proves the point. While flying aboard Air Force One to Malaysia, Trump posted on Truth Social that he’s planning to raise tariffs on Canadian goods by another 10%. The reason? A television ad from the province…
The Independent Christian Conservative 