The prime minister of Canada should never be on his knees to anybody. This tax is a clearcut violation of both NAFTA and WTO rules. If passed, it will trigger retaliatory trade action against the US by every other country in the world. Canada's trade and foreign ministers should not be talking to anybody in DC; instead, they should be working the phones to other trade and foreign ministers.

Canada alone can do significant damage to the US economy; the size of the trading relationship means that we have capabilities disproportionate to our GDP. If the EU, China and Japan sign on as well, even Republicans will back down.