back to article US datacenters in for shock as Canada mulls cutting the juice over Trump tariffs

Trump's tariffs are raising a new question mark over US datacenters and their expanding energy consumption, with price hikes possible as Canada threatens to withhold energy supplies in response. The recently inaugurated President Trump over the weekend unleashed 25 percent tariffs targeting imports from Canada and Mexico, …

  1. allanonymous

    Objects

    I just noticed my (toilet seat) is made in USA, not in Canada.

    What-Should-I-Do?

    What-Should-I-Do?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Objects

      Not give a sh1t?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Objects

      Paint it orange. Give it 1.5 ears, some tiny hands and a nasty looking hair piece and shit away.

    3. 54FFS

      Re: Objects

      You could pee all over it. I always get accused of doing that anyway, but now it would be a righteous act.

    4. harrys Bronze badge

      Re: Objects

      stock up on immodium!

    5. The man with a spanner

      Re: Objects

      Do a TRUMP and hover, but be carefull with the matches.

  2. Mishak Silver badge

    allowing them to bypass the grid, which he described as "old" and unreliable

    Another idea. How about investing in the grid so that businesses can have a supply with some resilience?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: allowing them to bypass the grid, which he described as "old" and unreliable

      Too obvious and comes with very poor short-term gains. You have to make money now and then you can make more money later fixing the problem you caused with another quick fix.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: allowing them to bypass the grid, which he described as "old" and unreliable

        "Too obvious and comes with very poor short-term gains"

        Yup. Here in North they invented all new 'transfer fee' and it was meant for repairing old cabling everywhere.

        Some corporations actually did something, but after first year, not a thing and fee is obviously permanent now.

        Not a minor one either, it's almost half of my electric bill and if I lived in countryside, it would be 4/5 of whole bill. Legalized stealing, again.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: allowing them to bypass the grid, which he described as "old" and unreliable

      Think of the shareholders, or if you are thinking of the government investing, what are you a commie, or some crap like that.

      And if they invest their money now, how will they get all those government subsidies later to pay big bonuses later, Sorry upgrade the power grid.

    3. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: allowing them to bypass the grid, which he described as "old" and unreliable

      That would be Socialism if not actually Communism!!!!1!!1! If market forces can't do it at a profit, it's not worth doing. </sarc>

    4. nijam Silver badge

      Re: allowing them to bypass the grid, which he described as "old" and unreliable

      > ... which he described as "old" and unreliable.

      Two of the (not very many) things he's an expert on.

  3. codejunky Silver badge

    Erm

    and called for "cutting off US access to critical Canadian resources – including electricity, lumber, critical minerals, oil, and gas – until the tariffs are lifted."

    So the answer to Trump putting on daft tariffs to make Americans poorer (as people seem to agree would be the case) the answer is to stop Canadians from selling their products to the US? So who will compensate the Canadians who cant sell their product?

    1. NewModelArmy

      Re: Erm

      Possible that Canada could sell the oil and gas to Europe, as we do have a need since Europe does not purchase oil and gas from Russia.

      The US already exports LPG to Europe etc., so Canada could compete with the US on this aspect.

      1. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

        Re: Erm

        BRICS is a potential massive market. And the more Trump attacks allies the more inclination there will be to reshape world orders, join beneficial trading blocs, shun America.

        Trump can rant and rave all he wants but no one will give a shit once America has completely isolated herself, unless he goes full-on 'Mad Mullah' and starts Word War III.

        "Making the Rest of the World Great Again".

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Erm

        "Possible that Canada could sell the oil and gas to Europe, as we do have a need since Europe does not purchase oil and gas from Russia."

        There's no Canadian east coast LNG export terminals, so they'd need to use the currently very limited west coast LNG capacity. I doubt that it would be economic to transport LNG from British Columbia to Europe. And Europe has been quietly purchasing Russian oil and gas shipped out on the Russian shadow fleet. Corporate Germany can't wait to reinstate Russian gas links.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Erm

          Also Canada would rather not export oil/gas at all. Alberta's oil can go more or less direct to the US without having to pass through the eastern provinces which are less enthusiastic about the whole thing.

          1. cornetman Silver badge

            Re: Erm

            > through the eastern provinces which are less enthusiastic about the whole thing.

            There's not a lot of enthusiasm for that here in BC either. Fairly recent spills of oil haven't really improved on that sentiment.

            1. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

              Re: Erm

              It's a simple choice; put up and shut up, find better solutions, or become the 51st state.

              If there is any benefit to another dose of Trump it's that he's forcing nations to decide what they want to do.

              1. Excused Boots Silver badge

                Re: Erm

                "or become the 51st state.”

                Now hypothetically, let’s leave aside the mechanism whereby that this could be done, let’s assume that Canada does become the 51st state, yes?

                Actually would it be one state, which seems a bit odd as its area is greater than the existing USA, so you have one state which is more than 50% of the entire country, or would it be split up and be multiple states?

                But let’s assume the former, it’s a single state, and returns two Senators, how many Congressman? Well it has a greater population than California so presumably a few more than the 52 that Cali has. How many of them, given Canada’s history and social setup are likely to be Democrats?

                It may be that the Republicans never control the House again, well not for many, many, many decades.

                Or Canada is divided up in to a number of States, each returns two Senators - how many of those are likely to be Democrats? Maybe the Democrats control the Senate for decades?

                Be careful what you wish for......

                1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
                  Big Brother

                  Re: Maybe the Democrats control the Senate for decades?

                  Sorry to burst your bubble but the MAGA controlled House of Repugnants is already trying to pass a bill to limit voting to US born people only. Hawaii's need not apply nor would any Canadian.

                  This is the next round of voter disenfranchisement. IF it passes, there is little chance of the Dems winning the house or the Senate for 100 years.

                  MAGA === Big Brother on Steroids.

                  1. Benegesserict Cumbersomberbatch Silver badge

                    Re: Maybe the Democrats control the Senate for decades?

                    (cough)14th Amendment(cough).

                    1. Evil Scot Bronze badge
                      Joke

                      Re: Maybe the Democrats control the Senate for decades?

                      (cough)2nd Amendment(cough).

        2. VoiceOfTruth

          Re: Erm

          On top of that, you simply cannot beat pipelines economically. Nothing else comes close. Hence, even though they cost huge amounts to build, they are profitable long term.

          1. Someone Else Silver badge

            Re: Erm

            [...]they are profitable long term.

            And therein lies the rub.

          2. Roland6 Silver badge

            Re: Erm

            > they are profitable long term.

            Assuming someone doesn’t decide to blow a hole in it…

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Erm

          "Corporate Germany can't wait to reinstate Russian gas links."

          Yup. There was already an suggestion in EU parliament for that. Suggested by a German and a Hungarian MEP. What a surprise: Putin's puppets.

      3. SonWon

        Re: Erm

        Most of Canada's crude oil is "Heavy/Sour: These oils have a low API gravity and high sulfur content, making them the most difficult to refine and the least valuable." Brave AI. Canada does not have enough refineries that can handle Heavy/Sour oil. Selling Heavy/Sour oil to Europe would have to come at a steep price reduction to pay for shipping to Europe. This is not profitable. I suppose they could build more refineries however these do not just pop up in a few years. Would the environmentalist even allow building another pipeline? Gas also has a problem same as America when selling to Europe the cost to ship it there. At least here the competition would be even, no one wins with a price war.

        Another note, Canada's has no pipelines to move oil from East to West. Why you may ask because the environmentalist shutdown the pipeline that was to be built. So all Canadian oil flowing East to West or West to East has to flow through America.

        Besides, Canada just agreed to enforce their border with a 1.2 billion dollar deal so the Trade War is likely over.

        1. Kevin Johnston

          Re: Erm

          That will be the 1.2Billion deal originally announced on 14th December 2024 then yes?

          1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
            Unhappy

            "That will be the 1.2Billion deal originally announced on 14th December 2024 then yes?"

            Correct.

            Most people who have to deal with the FOCF have several key advantages.

            1) They are smarter

            2) They have a significant attention span

            3)They don't need infinite levels of validation and ego-stroking.

            4) They have had a full nights sleep.

            So they spend the money they'd already agreed to spend and hire some guy as a "Border Tsar" to massage the pathetic ego of a half-wit.

            Personally I thought Trudeau's targeted counter-tariffs was a pretty good idea. Red states voted for this. This is what they get. Seemed very fair to me.

    2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Erm

      The other answer seems to be to make Canadians poorer by adding tariffs to US products. Now he's got somebody to blame for the consequences of his own actions. He'll certainly do that.

      1. Colin Miller

        Re: Erm

        The most obvious thing to increase taxesimport tariffs on is American "whiskey"

        1. spold Silver badge

          Re: Erm

          Forget that - 7 Canadian provinces (as of now) have stopped selling any US booze at the provincial stores, stopped supplying it to shops, stopped all restaurants from ordering it. There is nowhere else to get it. I went to the LCBO (Ontario provincial stores) earlier and there are empty shelves cleared of US wines and spirits. Bottoms up Donnie!

          1. codejunky Silver badge

            Re: Erm

            @spold

            "Forget that - 7 Canadian provinces (as of now) have stopped selling any US booze at the provincial stores, stopped supplying it to shops, stopped all restaurants from ordering it. There is nowhere else to get it. I went to the LCBO (Ontario provincial stores) earlier and there are empty shelves cleared of US wines and spirits. Bottoms up Donnie!"

            While banning products from the US doesnt sound great (how much harm will this inflict on Canadian business? I dunno) but I assume these businesses have already paid for that stock they now cannot put on shelves. I am guessing they will find some way to 'offload' this stock maybe but seems a cost to the businesses that did nothing wrong.

          2. Jack Cade
            Pint

            Re: Erm

            That reminds me of our local booze shop in London, which had a huge display pile of wine from Argentina, just before it invaded the Falklands.

        2. DS999 Silver badge

          Re: Erm

          And that was a stroke of genius, as that almost exclusively is hitting red states that voted for Trump.

      2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Erm

        Except they are adding tariffs to specific US products that people can live without, have alternatives and target American politics.

        >The most obvious thing to increase taxesimport tariffs on is American "whiskey"

        The nice bit is that booze is only sold in provincial owned government stores in most provinces. So local politicians can just decide not to stock Tennessee not-whisky

        Looking forward to an end to the current 100% tariff on Chinese EVs

        1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

          Re: Tennessee Hooch

          Canada is the biggest market for the stuff. Mitch McConnell should standby for a lot of people he represents to lose their jobs very soon.

          We need a Footgun Icon.

        2. Missing Semicolon Silver badge

          "Looking forward to an end to the current 100% tariff on Chinese EVs"

          Why?

          Do you want more people to lose there jobs?

      3. katrinab Silver badge

        Re: Erm

        Match it with decreases in tariffs on competing products from other countries, then hopefully Canadians can buy those instead at the same price. NAFTA does generally mean that the US has lower tariffs than other countries at present.

    3. captain veg Silver badge

      Re: Erm

      The irony is strong in this one.

      -A.

    4. DS999 Silver badge

      Re: Erm

      Canada can use the revenue from the tariffs they place on American goods to compensate Canadian exporters who lose.

      And note that a lot of Canadian exporters will NOT lose that much, because the US has no alternative to buying Canadian lumber, for example, since they supply 80% of the construction market in the US. Another 19% is imported from elsewhere, only 1% of the lumber used in home construction is domestic!

      What this may do if goes on for very long is get Canadians who are already really pissed off about this to quit buying American products. Once they've found alternatives they like from Europe or China or whatever, then even if Trump backs off those US goods won't return to Canadian shelves because Canadians won't buy them. I hear they make a pretty good whiskey in Ireland, maybe they won't want US made stuff anymore even after Trump is forced to back down and run away with tail his between his legs.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: Erm

        They could also put tariffs on the "through traffic" goods being sent up to Alaska. In both directions :-)

      2. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: Erm

        I hear they make a pretty good whiskey in Ireland

        And good whisky in Scotland, England, Wales, Japan [1], Australia and even India [2]. All better than American whiskey.

        [1] Yes, really. The stuff they made 20+ years ago was terrible but nowadays some of it is pretty good. More expensive than UK whisky though.

        [2] Again, the really bad stuff [3] doesn't get exported but the good stuff does.

        [3] As in "don't drink too much, you'll go blind"

    5. Benegesserict Cumbersomberbatch Silver badge

      Re: Erm

      Nice cheap electricity in Canada makes cost of living and doing business cheaper there. Everybody wins, unless you happen to own a power station.

      I've never understood why generation and distribution is allowed to be a for-profit exercise. It seems a natural monopoly.

  4. Groo The Wanderer - A Canuck

    By all means Canada should cut them off. Tariffs in light of the free trade agreement the previous Drumpf administration signed are insulting to start with, but imposing 25% on Canada vs. only 10% on the supposed "enemy of the free world", China, is vindictive and cruel beyond belief.

    Screw Donald Drumpf, screw his fascist counterpart, Musk, and screw the American people who asked for this.

    May you all rot in a festering cesspool of nothingness.

  5. Tron Silver badge

    Short term pain for long term gain.

    That's what Boris's Brexiteers banked on with Brexit. They are now available on the lecture circuit having been kicked out of power on account of the inflation caused by the decline in Sterling following the referendum. No gains yet. Not one.

    As for 'temporary'. I seem to remember economists telling us that inflation was 'temporary', post-Covid. Well, we've had Long Covid and Long Brexit. I guess there is such a thing as Long Temporary.

    The reciprocal tariffs were stupid and just hurt Canadians. Having pointed out that tariffs are dumb and damaging, why did they throw up their own? Well, with the governments of the US, Canada and Mexico levying tariffs, the people of the US, Canada and Mexico will suffer and the governments of the US, Canada and Mexico will pull in more tariff cash, which is basically a new tax. So taken together, the tariffs are a state tax grab by all three governments at the expense of citizens.

    1. NewModelArmy

      Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

      On a recent political programme (last week) the Tory said that Brexit was a 50 year project.

      They soon changed their tune once the almighty fuck up that Brexit was shown to be a monumental mistake.

      Tariffs placed against the US in retaliation is simply forcing the country not to buy US goods.

      What may happen is that those countries hit by tariffs may find alternative customers, and so isolate the US in the long term.

    2. codejunky Silver badge
      WTF?

      Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

      @Tron

      "That's what Boris's Brexiteers banked on with Brexit."

      Some people will never be able to get past this. Covering their eyes and ears as they repeat to themselves 'brexit is bad, brexit is bad' in the hope that their dream world of the apocalypse comes true. I am sure some will put on sandwich boards (or paint themselves blue) to tell us all how the end is coming. And of course telling anyone unfortunate to cross their paths that there have been no gains.

      May one day they get help.

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

        I suppose you're covering your eyes and not noticing that the UK has has an economic growth problem. Namely it's stalled.

        1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

          Re: UK has has an economic growth problem

          It is far worse than that. WE AS A NATION ARE BROKE. The Treasury coffers are empty.

          BREXIT will still be a millstone around our grandkids neck even if (God help us) Farage becomes PM and makes us the 52nd State just as his pal Trump wants.

          1. codejunky Silver badge

            Re: UK has has an economic growth problem

            @Steve Davies 3

            "It is far worse than that. WE AS A NATION ARE BROKE. The Treasury coffers are empty."

            Yes. We told you that back in 2008. Then we had managed decline as they couldnt think of a way out of the problem. Of course when the hysteria of covid hit and we kept explaining that lockdowns, shafting the economy and blowout spending on that will lead to a lot of economic harm people responded that it was worth it.

            Now people cry at the state of the economy as though they dont think the covid reaction was worth it. I am shocked.

            "BREXIT will still be a millstone around our grandkids neck even if (God help us) Farage becomes PM and makes us the 52nd State just as his pal Trump wants."

            And the strange fantasies of an EU cultist. If we are not in the EU we must become part of the US. Why? Dont know it just sounds scary! Our grandkids will laugh that people believed in witches and this crap

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Alien

              Re: UK has has an economic growth problem

              codejunky> We told you that back in 2008

              Who's "we"? The voices in your head?

          2. Missing Semicolon Silver badge

            Re: UK has has an economic growth problem

            It would help if we had a government who were determined to improve the situation. They seem to be hell-bent on doing the opposite.

            It could be ideology, it might well be incompetence, but is there a chance they are deliberately doing it so that the only way out is to abase ourselves before the IMF and the European Commission?

        2. codejunky Silver badge

          Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

          @Doctor Syntax

          "I suppose you're covering your eyes and not noticing that the UK has has an economic growth problem. Namely it's stalled."

          Not covering my eyes at all, that is what happens after the covid reaction (do you approve of the lockdowns? Inflation and economic damage was the trade off) and our current government being horrendously bad.

          But are you covering your eyes? Have you looked over the channel at the rejection of the EU since we left? The economic growth problem they have and the last of the twin engines of growth stalling and hitting recession. That Starmer seems to want to rejoin as the place falls to pieces.

          1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

            Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

            Covid was a gift for the Brexiteers. It confused the issue and even 5 years on they're blaming all our woes on it. The pandemic has gone, Brexit is still here.

            1. codejunky Silver badge

              Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

              @Doctor Syntax

              "Covid was a gift for the Brexiteers."

              Yes it really was. It made things politically difficult for the gov to join the EU vaccination procurement and as a result we got a clear and powerful example of how badly the EU gov run things and how badly they behave. The first real clear and so far undefeated benefit of brexit being a solid demonstration of the EU not placing their orders in time, not understanding the contracts they signed, politicking instead of doing the job, stealing bought and paid for exports and threatening to do so from others. They performed so bad even the incredibly loyal EU politicians were ashamed.

              "It confused the issue and even 5 years on they're blaming all our woes on it. The pandemic has gone, Brexit is still here."

              Who is blaming covid (the virus)? First you are wrong and it has not gone. But second YOU WERE WARNED that screwing up the economy with lockdowns and overreaction to covid would be economically damaging and cost a hell of a lot that needs to be paid back. The covid reaction was not long ago and the country has a dire financial and growth situation due to it.

              And as I will hit you over the head with again, the EU especially the EU proper (Eurozone) is also having a dire financial and growth situation. As well as its political problems of people voting against the EU.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

              even 5 years on they're blaming all our woes on it.

              5 years on and Brexiteers are still blaming the EU too.

              A person who cannot ever admit to being wrong may exhibit behaviour that could include the following characteristics:

              1. Narcissistic Traits

              Fragile Ego: They may have an inflated sense of self-importance, making any admission of fault feel like a personal attack.

              Defensive Mechanisms: They might deflect blame onto others or make excuses to preserve their self-image.

              Need for Superiority: They may see admitting mistakes as a weakness, which threatens their perception of being superior or competent.

              2. Cognitive Rigidity

              Black-and-White Thinking: They struggle with nuance and may believe that being wrong means being entirely incompetent or foolish.

              Confirmation Bias: They seek out information that supports their beliefs and ignore contradictory evidence.

              Inability to Process Contradiction: Their thinking patterns prevent them from reconciling mistakes with their self-concept.

              3. Low Emotional Intelligence

              Lack of Self-Awareness: They may not recognize their own cognitive distortions or limitations.

              Poor Empathy: They struggle to see things from others' perspectives, making them resistant to acknowledging alternative viewpoints.

              Defensiveness & Projection: Instead of accepting criticism, they may become aggressive or accuse others of being wrong instead.

              4. Deep-Seated Insecurity

              Fear of Judgment: They may equate making mistakes with being unworthy or incompetent.

              Possible Underlying Causes:

              Upbringing: They may have been raised in an environment where mistakes were harshly punished or equated with failure.

              Trauma: Past experiences of rejection or humiliation might make them hyper-defensive.

              Personality Disorders: In extreme cases, conditions like Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) or Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) can contribute to this behavior.

      2. heyrick Silver badge

        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

        "brexit is bad, brexit is bad"

        Brexit is bad. Though, granted, after five years somebody recently pointed out a proper benefit of Brexit. Zero tax on tampons. That's great, and as a male I support that, but... really... was all the other pain, lost opportunities, and economic stagnation worth it?

        "May one day they get help."

        May one day you come to your senses.

        1. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge

          Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

          Don't say it too loudly, but...

          VAT on sanitary products (and not just tampons, but incontinence products too) could also have been zero-rated if we'd stayed in the EU. The whole "bureaucrats making us charge taxes" thing was just one of many lines that turned out to have only a passing relationship with reality.

          1. heyrick Silver badge
            Happy

            could also have been zero-rated

            Shhhhhhhh!

            That's like the only tangible Brexit benefit that has been mentioned so far, don't ruin it!

            1. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge
              Holmes

              Re: could also have been zero-rated

              Don't be silly, there are a lot of benefits to Brexit. The fact that those benefits go to China and Russia are by-the-bye,

      3. ChodeMonkey Bronze badge
        Thumb Up

        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

        "that there have been no gains"

        You tell 'em, Sister!

        Your Tampax would have never been VAT exempt under the yolk(sic) of the hated EU!

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

          "Your Tampax would have never been VAT exempt under the yolk(sic) of the hated EU!"

          It took quite some time for the UK to finally relent to that demand. Oddly, the "slow moving behemoth" that is the EU also did the same just months later. Being slow moving, that was obviously already in the pipeline for at least a year. So yeah, even under "the yolk" of the EU, sanity product would have been VAT free even in the UK just months after our lords and masters created "The One True Brexit Benefit" :-)

      4. captain veg Silver badge

        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

        Give it up mate. Everyone is laughing at you.

        -A.

        1. codejunky Silver badge

          Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

          @captain veg

          "Give it up mate. Everyone is laughing at you."

          Really not. Maybe everyone within the remain fanatic bubble are but what does that count? Look at the idiots above trying to claim the only thing from brexit was removing VAT from tampons. With stupidity like that I have to laugh and I am certainly not the only one.

          1. ChodeMonkey Bronze badge
            FAIL

            Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

            "Look at the idiots above trying to claim the only thing from brexit was removing VAT from tampons"

            Oh dear, the joke has gone over your head, Madam.

            No one believes that no VAT on Tampax in the UK is a brexit win.

            1. codejunky Silver badge

              Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

              ChodeMonkey

              "No one believes that no VAT on Tampax in the UK is a brexit win."

              To the deluded they will never believe any brexit wins. The great amusement being that on a topic of the US and Canada with no relation to brexit, it is forever at the front of Tron's mind as he writes a top level comment mostly consisting of accusing brexit of bad things. There is some fun watching the like minds jump onto my response with their 'interesting' takes

              1. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge
                FAIL

                Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                Oh dear, oh dear, CJ himself hooked by an account that is obviously parodying him with its very name. The lack of self-awareness really is stunning.

                1. codejunky Silver badge

                  Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                  @Elongated Muskrat

                  You really aint too bright are you? You spend your time crying and moaning you want to block me then seek me out in hopes for attention. Here- https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2024/11/20/x_marks_the_spot_for/#c_4969281

                2. ChodeMonkey Bronze badge
                  Unhappy

                  Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                  "an account that is obviously parodying him with its very name."

                  I resemble that remark!

                  1. codejunky Silver badge
                    Pint

                    Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                    @ChodeMonkey

                    "I resemble that remark!"

                    I do take a little pride in that though. Before you were a coward writing less than a sentence in worthless troll comments and afraid to post with an account in case someone read your name.

                    Now look at you! You created an account with a handle (so we can see when its you and even hold a conversation!) and sometimes manage to post a complete sentence which sometimes contains thought.

                    I consider that massive progress for you and an improvement to the comment sections. While me and Casca dont agree on much, we both prefer to interact with non-cowards. Have a beer->

                    1. ChodeMonkey Bronze badge

                      Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                      Eh?

                      1. codejunky Silver badge
                        Thumb Up

                        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                        @ChodeMonkey

                        "Eh?"

                        Dont worry your little head about it, just know that I am proud of your progress. Keep it up you are doing well

                        1. ChodeMonkey Bronze badge
                          Stop

                          Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                          "Dont worry your little head"

                          Madame, your interest in my head, little or otherwise, is unwelcome. Good day.

              2. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                To the deluded they will never believe any brexit wins.

                So you do think brexit resulted in no VAT on tampons then? Hahaha.

                What other brexit benefits have there been for the average UK person? Getting deported fron EU countries?*

                *Just in case you were unaware, this was possible before brexit. Just not applied to Brits at the time.

                1. codejunky Silver badge

                  Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                  @AC

                  "So you do think brexit resulted in no VAT on tampons then? Hahaha."

                  The fact that we couldnt just remove the VAT was due to being in the EU. Do you remember the idiots protesting in London about it instead of understanding they needed to complain to Brussels? It is nice that the EU decided to copy the idea I guess.

                  "What other brexit benefits have there been for the average UK person?"

                  This is where the obvious undefeated champion of the covid vaccine procurement wins the day every time. Also recently an interesting story about a French wine maker who couldnt sell his products in the EU but thankfully is here. That would be the little things that make the economy and improve our lives incrementally that the EU bans for lack of such detailed knowledge (nobody could have that level). Not having our tax money sent to the EU in membership fees (remember people crying how high they were, it was the 'brexit' bill), EU covid bailouts nor EU Eurozone bailouts.

                  1. Anonymous Coward
                    Anonymous Coward

                    Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                    The fact that we couldnt just remove the VAT was due to being in the EU. BZZT WRONG.

                    This is where the obvious undefeated champion of the covid vaccine BZZT WRONG. UK did nothing it couldn't have done within the EU. Because.... IT WAS STILL IN THE EU AT THAT TIME.

                    French wine maker who couldnt sell his products in the EU Was that on the side of a bus? Is this the guy who was denaturing wines? Was he really French?

                    What better lives are you refering to? Life is pretty shit for many people in the UK. It's got worse.

                    I'd rate these 0 out of 3. And that is being generous.

                    1. codejunky Silver badge
                      FAIL

                      Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                      @AC

                      "The fact that we couldnt just remove the VAT was due to being in the EU. BZZT WRONG."

                      Then why did the EU have to change its law to allow it? https://www.context.news/socioeconomic-inclusion/what-is-the-tampon-tax-and-which-countries-have-axed-it

                      "This is where the obvious undefeated champion of the covid vaccine BZZT WRONG. UK did nothing it couldn't have done within the EU. Because.... IT WAS STILL IN THE EU AT THAT TIME."

                      And due to brexit it was political suicide for the gov to throw in with the EU. The EU did an awful job while the UK did a great job as with the US and Israel.

                      "French wine maker who couldnt sell his products in the EU Was that on the side of a bus? Is this the guy who was denaturing wines? Was he really French?"

                      You are failing hard here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crm73z0np93o

                      "I'd rate these 0 out of 3. And that is being generous."

                      You got the score right but allocated the wrong way around. You failed hard.

                      1. Anonymous Coward
                        Anonymous Coward

                        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                        Remember Piat D'Or? Slops the French sent to the UK because we'll drink any ol' schite.

                        1. captain veg Silver badge

                          Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                          Remember M&B Brew 11*? Whitbread Trophy? Double Diamond? Bleedin' Watney's Red Barrel?

                          We didn't need any foreigners to persuade us to drink any ol' schite. It was all we had.

                          -A.

                          *I'm still trying to recover from West Midlands pubs in the 1980s. Flowers was an occasional let up.

                      2. captain veg Silver badge

                        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                        Ha ha ha, same to you with knobs on.

                        Brilliant argument.

                        -A.

          2. David Hicklin Silver badge

            Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

            > Look at the idiots above trying to claim the only thing from brexit was removing VAT from tampons

            OK challenge then - what benefits have we had ? Along with the reliable proof of them

            1. DJO Silver badge

              Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

              If it wasn't for Brexit the very rich would have had to declare all their offshore holdings to the tax authorities, and be taxed on them as they should be.

              That is the only benefit and it was the only reason for Brexit. All the crap about "taking back control" was bullshit designed to make the turkeys vote for Christmas, and it worked.

              The result is a few already too rich people get a lot richer while everybody else gets poorer. Oddly the exact opposite of what the majority would like to see, but they voted for it all the same.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                "If it wasn't for Brexit the very rich would have had to declare all their offshore holdings to the tax authorities, and be taxed on them as they should be."

                That's a nice theory and that's how it should go in EU, but in practise no-one is as it's not enforced in any meaningful way.

                Local tax man said that "they don't even try to find offshore holdings", i.e. they know people who have them, but because they're rich, they don't count.

                Forbes says that that the richest local has about $500M fortune, he pays taxes from his corporate salary, tax people definitely read Forbes, but won't even try to tax income from that fortune. That's how taxation *actually* works: The richer you are, the less you pay. In most cases, zero.

                1. DJO Silver badge

                  Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

                  Doesn't matter to them if the law is (currently) enforced or not. If it's on the books it's a weapon that can be used against them and they will (and did) do everything in their power to prevent that.

                  OK then, if that wasn't the reason what was because every other "benefit" of Brexit evaporated like morning dew.

          3. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge

            Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

            Your stupidity certainly does make you a joke, yes, but it's good to know that you're laughing at your own idiocy as well. It goes some way to rebuilding faith in human nature.

            (Yes, I know that's not what you meant with your catty RWNJ firebrand persona, but I really don't give a shit, and everyone else is laughing at you, not with you)

    3. Groo The Wanderer - A Canuck

      Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

      Ah, but Polliviere of the Canadian Conservative Party wants to give those tariff monies directly to the corporations and investors through tax breaks right now, exactly the same way Drumpf is using the tariff funds to pay for his tax largess to the 1% of the United States instead of making the middle class pay for it directly through income taxes.

      But the American public is going to pay for the extra money that is being given to the 1%, make no mistake of that. It is coming out of the public's pocket at every turn, courtesy of standard Republican policy to "shrink" government by turning over billions and trillions in contracts to corporate America, pay 10-25% of it as profit for those corporations, and laugh all the way to retirement, when they switch over to a cushy, well-paid fake job with one of the corporations (or an affiliate) that they'd been granting contracts to while in "public service."

      May the Universe help Canada if Polliviere becomes PM, because he's Canada's Drumpf Part II...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

        Sadly, stupid ideas ricochet back and forth round the world like pinballs - especially when they are self serving too.

      2. Missing Semicolon Silver badge

        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

        The current incumbent has hardly presided over unbridled success, has he?

        1. Groo The Wanderer - A Canuck

          Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

          Amazing how blind the die-hard Conservatives are to the facts that inflation is a global problem dragging down economies, the supply chain problems that did the same were also global in nature, and that COVID and it's multiple billions of expenses was again a global pandemic that Canada and whoever was in power would have to just ride out. Blaming a government for global issues is flat out brain-damaged and ignorant, like most Polliviere supporters have to be to not see how eager that man is to sell out Canadian interests.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

            " facts that inflation is a global problem "

            It's not inflation, it's price-gouging. If it was inflation, wages would rise too and they haven't. Only profits have sky-rocketed and that's definitely *not* inflation.

            Price-gouging and greed.

    4. heyrick Silver badge

      Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

      "Having pointed out that tariffs are dumb and damaging, why did they throw up their own?"

      Yes, it is stupid, but it is called retaliation. The alternative, doing nothing (or wasting time negotiating with a despot) is to bend over and take it like a man.

      Fuck that, slap tariffs on stuff. The rest of the world can carry on trading with each other like before, only treating the US as a pariah nation until their leadership realises that screwing with everybody for the lulz isn't the way forward. Given their leadership is a bunch of imbeciles, it may take a while...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

        No one seems to have mentioned that Canada and Mexico tried appeasement last time he was in power. Oh well, anschluss with Greenland.

      2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Short term pain for long term gain.

        Taking action just provides him with something onto which he can divert blame for the inflation he'll cause. It probably takes more courage, however. I suppose, of course, they could just tell him outright why they're quite happy to let him burn his house down and they're not going to lift a finger to help him nor to hide the fact that he's the arsonist. But I suppose it's beyond a politician anywhere to not be seen to react.

  6. ComicalEngineer

    What a shame it would be if all thos US based AI data centres were unable to process AI requests because of a lack of electrickery.

    [/sarcasm off]

  7. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    "GenAI workloads are going to be somewhat resistant to increases in the cost of power overall, given the capex cost of the Nvidia systems themselves at cluster and supercluster scale, and the substantial investment in state-of-the-art datacenter facilities to house and power them. "

    Sounds like sunk costs to me.

    1. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge

      "Resistant" means little, if the investment turns from being a large capex with a long payoff to being a large capex with no payoff.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Do it Canada

    and I hope that the Tesla site in Buffalo as well as a few AWS data centres get taken offline.

    Musk seems to be stealthily taking complete control of the US Government. He gets more and more dangerous every day.

    1. DS999 Silver badge

      Re: Do it Canada

      Maybe the people who tried to assassinate Trump should have been trying to assassinate Musk instead.

  9. captain veg Silver badge

    Nice!

    (See above.)

    -A.

  10. Androgynous Cupboard Silver badge

    Tariff = Tax

    Given a tariff is just a particular type of tax, I wonder if any American president has raised taxes by so much in such a short time? Unusual look for a republican.

    1. Potemkine! Silver badge

      Re: Tariff = Tax

      At a time, it was also unusual for a Republican to be a Russian puppet.

      Times change.

    2. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: Tariff = Tax

      No taxation without representation?

  11. Kev99 Silver badge

    Are they accepting volunteers to throw the switch?

  12. Pomgolian
    Alert

    How about...

    Putting a 100% tariff on Tesla?

    https://www.businesstoday.in/world/canada/story/make-them-pay-canada-puts-trumps-first-friend-elon-musks-tesla-in-the-crosshairs-of-tariff-war-463097-2025-02-01

    Two asshats, one stone.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: How about...

      I wonder how that plays with international conventions. However when you decide to tear up international conventions you can't call on them to protect you.

  13. Bebu sa Ware
    Coat

    I wonder...

    Whether the good people of Vermont and Maine might consider rejoining the Empire Commonwealth either as separate dominions or part of Canada?

    Non resident monarchs, unlike contemporary resident populist heads of state, have the advantage of rarely requiring their rings to be kissed.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: I wonder...

      The real problem here is that head of state and head of government are, AFAICS, combined.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Don’t worry, Greenland will invade Washington DC soon

    and liberate us from dimwitted, greedy King Donald and his henchmen.

    1. Kevin Johnston

      Re: Don’t worry, Greenland will invade Washington DC soon

      aka The Mouse that Roared featuring the wondrous Peter Sellers in his triumphal 'how many roles can I play' style

    2. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: Don’t worry, Greenland will invade Washington DC soon

      And the "currently not being paid (because of Musk wanting only hardcore federal employees)" US military will shrug and say "not our problem"..

  15. streaky
    Childcatcher

    Yikes

    Canada is being a little bit delusional that it thinks it has power here. In every sense.

    Canada might be the US' biggest supplier of various things but that's because the US doesn't have many energy suppliers. Give the US the opportunity to develop their own supply further still, and they're going to do it. You don't want these sorts of things to become permanent if you're Canada, it'd be the end of everything.

    Clearly Trump wants a deal on something, the smart play will be to meet him halfway like he's looking for. He's a political used car salesman (and I mean that in a good way) - if you annoy him he'll sell you a badly welded undeclared cut and shut and you won't like it. Everything he does is transactional, not ideological and you can use that to your benefit if you're not ideologically-driven. Even Mexico has got this figured out. If you come back at him with ideology not transaction, you _will_ lose.

    1. Kevin Johnston

      Re: Yikes

      Once you pay the Danegeld you never get rid of the Dane - This has been quoted so often yet people ignore the message. If the Dumpster believes he won then he will keep pushing to find the limit, he is not in this for the best interest of the whole of the US, just those he considers worthy (which is also know as the US richest list)

      1. streaky

        Re: Yikes

        But that isn't how Trump operates. Also the key is the meeting in the middle. He's written about this, he hasn't changed in decades.

        It's called horse-trading, it's nothing new - so why does everybody freak out?

        1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: Yikes

          "But that isn't how Trump operates."

          Yes, so don't play his game. What was that saying about the only way to win is not to play.?

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Yikes

          ". Also the key is the meeting in the middle."

          That's BS. When you meet in the middle, he moves the goal point and demand you meet in the *new* middle until he gets what he wants and you don't get anything.

          Have you ever looked at what he actually does?

    2. Strangelove

      Re: Yikes -

      Canada might be the US' (sic) biggest supplier of various things...

      But more importantly for Canada, is the US Canada's largest, or even only customer ?

      If the oil and gas and bits of bent steel and other things can be exported further away - perhaps to Europe, for example, where there are far more potential customers than the USA, then its not such a loss to them, and for Canada to use up its fossil fuel more slowly and have some left for the end game when prices will be really high, may yet well be the wisest move ever. They will of course have to use metric units.

      If it is worth moving container ships from China to Holland, and it is, it must be worth moving stuff from Canada to Europe as well...

      And there is a patriotic factor, I can imagine many Canadians taking this quite personally.

      Mike

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Yikes

      "Everything he does is transactional, not ideological and you can use that to your benefit if you're not ideologically-driven. "

      You're wrong, he has several ideologies. Kicking democrats and 'liberals' is his passion and will always be. Also kicking anyone who won't kiss his butt.

      Most of the other stuff is invented on the spot but those ones are there to stay.

  16. Joe 59

    quick to cut off booze, maple syrup and electricity, slow to cut off illegal immigration and fentanyl. How friendly of a neighbor. Note in the deal with Mexico, Trump agreed to curtail weapons smuggling, pretty good of him to do that for Mexico in exchange for more border security and drug interdiction missions.

    1. Peter2

      The US DEA says that the supply of Fentanyl from Canada to the US is fuck all.

      https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf

      It also shows that the precursors are made in the US, then shipped to Mexico and then smuggled back across the border and finished into drugs. Blocking the export of the precursors from the US to Mexico would be rather more sensible than demanding Mexico block their export to the US; that just looks like an attempt at deflection from the US failure to prevent the exports in the first place.

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        It might say something different tomorrow. Probably will once they notice.

  17. Rattlerjake

    Nothing but whiners an complainers, but not a single constructive criticism

    All I see in these comments is everyone on this site snivelling about Trump, yet not one of you has complained about WHY he is having to initiate these tariffs, or who is really to blame. Every nation we deal with has done nothing but take advantage of the US (taxpayers), while all of our previous @sswipe politicians and Presidents (including Ronnie Raygun and the RINO Bushes) destroyed our economy and passed out trillions of dollars to useless nations like Ukraine, and it's Caesarian Mafia, Israel, and even China. All those trillions wasted on unnecessary wars, illegal invaders, and government corruption could have been used to add new power generation and improve our grid. Let Canada turn off the electricity, it's their loss, they have NO ONE ELSE to sell it to, same goes for their natural gas, which they pump to us through pipelines WE built and maintain, it will take them decades and BILLIONS of dollars to put the infrastructure in place to be able to convert it to liquid and ship it to Europe.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Nothing but whiners an complainers, but not a single constructive criticism

      "...he is having to .... "

      Having to? Really? You realize that all of the tariff money goes to his pockets? Real culprits are of course the semi-intelligent people in the Party and greedy corporations.

      "Every nation we deal with has done nothing but take advantage of the US"

      You seem to have this backwards: Who are the people who need to buy dollars to buy oil? Hint: It's *not* US. Talking about 'taking advance', my arse.

      "....passed out trillions of dollars to useless nations like Ukraine, and it's Caesarian Mafia, Israel, and even China."

      Ooh, a big number. That's about 1% what a single absolutely unnecessary war costs, but of course that doesn't matter.

  18. FuzzyTheBear
    Flame

    P.S.

    Canada is simply implementing a border deal that it made with Biden.

    Nothing more. ( disclosure .. im from Quebec )

    Trump claims all sorts of things but truth is another pair of camels.

    Hydro Quebec has separate contracts for NY and a few more places that are not in the " pool " that regulates prices and contracts

    we just have to pull the plug and the hurt will be on them.

    Trump needs to go in a box for the world to relax. We were 2 inches away from it.

  19. bernmeister
    Holmes

    Not connected.

    "The electrical power grid that powers Northern America is not a single grid, but is instead divided into multiple wide area synchronous grids."[Wikipedia) So they can do flexible things with their energy supplies. Is that good or bad?

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