**🚨 BREAKING: Canada Pushes Back as Trump’s Trade Threats Face Setback | Buffett Reacts**

Canada has delivered one of the firmest rebukes yet to former President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats, triggering a swift market reaction and drawing rare public commentary from billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who described the escalating U.S.-Canada trade standoff as “the most avoidable self-inflicted wound I’ve seen in decades.”

The crisis reignited yesterday after Trump posted a multi-part Truth Social thread demanding that Ottawa “immediately pay billions in back trade subsidies” or face blanket 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods entering the United States. The former president — still the dominant voice in Republican politics despite his removal under the 25th Amendment — singled out Canadian softwood lumber, electricity exports, critical minerals and agricultural products, claiming the duties were necessary to “stop Canada from ripping off American farmers and workers.”

Within four hours Prime Minister Mark Carney appeared in a nationally televised address from Ottawa. His tone was calm but unmistakable:

“Canada is not a colony, nor are we a piggy bank. We are the United States’ largest trading partner, its closest ally and a sovereign G7 democracy. If Washington chooses to impose unilateral tariffs on essential goods — lumber that builds American homes, energy that heats American factories, minerals that power American technology — we will respond with equivalent, targeted measures. Those measures are already prepared. We prefer partnership. We will not accept coercion.”

The Canadian government followed the speech with immediate action. Global Affairs Canada activated “Phase 1 retaliatory lists” covering U.S. corn, soybeans, pork, whiskey, motorcycles, semiconductors, aircraft parts and select consumer goods — products chosen to inflict maximum political pain in Republican-held states while minimizing domestic disruption. Simultaneously, the Canada Border Services Agency announced enhanced “supply-chain integrity checks” on all U.S.-origin shipments, effectively slowing clearance times at key crossings by 48–72 hours.

Commodity markets reacted violently. March potato futures on the CME jumped 14%, frozen-potato processor stocks (Lamb Weston, McCain) fell 6–9%, and softwood-lumber prices in the U.S. Midwest rose 11% in overnight trading. The Canadian dollar strengthened 1.7% against the greenback as traders priced in Ottawa’s resolve. U.S. agricultural futures (corn, soy) dropped 3–5% on fears of renewed export barriers.

The most surprising intervention came from Warren Buffett. In a rare on-the-record statement released through Berkshire Hathaway’s Omaha headquarters this morning, the 95-year-old investor said:

“Trade wars are easy to start and very hard to stop. When you put a tax on your closest neighbor and best customer, you’re not protecting American workers — you’re taxing American consumers and American companies that rely on that supply chain. I’ve watched this movie before. The ending is never good for anybody. Cool heads need to prevail quickly.”

Buffett’s remarks — his first direct public comment on U.S. trade policy since 2018 — were interpreted by many as a not-so-subtle warning to both Trump and Acting President JD Vance. Berkshire Hathaway owns significant stakes in consumer-goods companies, railroads and utilities that would be directly harmed by prolonged U.S.-Canada friction.

Inside the White House, Acting President Vance’s economic team is reportedly split. Hard-line Trump loyalists are pushing for immediate Section 232 national-security tariffs, while pragmatic advisers warn that broad-based duties on Canadian energy and lumber would spike U.S. gasoline prices by 40–60 cents a gallon and add thousands of dollars to the cost of new single-family homes — politically toxic outcomes ahead of midterms.

Trump, meanwhile, doubled down in a Truth Social thread posted at 9:41 a.m. ET:

“Canada’s weak PM Carney is bluffing! They need our market way more than we need theirs. 25% tariffs stay until they pay up — BILLIONS! American farmers, workers and companies will WIN BIG. The globalists are scared — that’s why they’re crying! MAGA!!!”

The post has been viewed more than 64 million times but has also drawn unusually sharp criticism from farm-state Republicans. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) told reporters: “Soybean growers in Iowa cannot survive another round of retaliation. We need negotiation, not escalation.” Similar unease is emerging in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan — states that flipped narrowly to Trump in 2024 and will be pivotal in 2026.

Canada’s countermeasures have already begun to bite. Early data from the Canada Border Services Agency shows U.S.-origin shipments facing average clearance delays of 36 hours at Windsor-Detroit and Emerson-Pembina crossings. U.S. importers are reporting “allocation uncertainty” for Q2 potato volumes, prompting some national chains to quietly test menu-price adjustments of 5–12 cents per fry portion.

Trade economists warn the standoff could easily spiral. The U.S.-Canada goods trade relationship is worth more than $780 billion annually — the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world. A full-scale tariff war would disrupt integrated supply chains in autos, energy, agriculture and aerospace, potentially shaving 0.4–0.8% off North American GDP in the first year alone.

For Trump, the episode underscores a painful new reality: his policy preferences still command headlines and move markets, but his ability to force compliance has been dramatically curtailed since losing executive authority. Carney — the former central banker turned prime minister — appears to understand this asymmetry very well and is exploiting it with precision.

As the two sides head into emergency consultations this week, the world is watching to see whether North America’s most important economic relationship can be repaired — or whether a potato dispute becomes the spark for a much larger continental fracture.