1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

Last month, trade talks with Canada collapsed, and Trump put 50 percent tariffs on about 20 billion dollars of Canadian goods. Canada hit back. Their retaliatory tariffs took effect on roughly 700 American products, everything from steel and dairy to appliances and farm equipment. Trump’s response came within hours. He signed orders banning most imports of Canadian alcohol, dairy, and motorcycles outright. He also expanded his 50 percent tariffs to dozens more products, and ordered the government to stop buying Canadian goods under federal contracts. He even threatened to ban Bombardier, a Canadian jet maker, from selling planes in the United States. As usual, he would only be shooting America in the foot: Bombardier employs people in more than 20 states and is opening a new plant in Indiana. A Republican senator from Kansas had to call the White House to remind them of that. Canada’s prime minister responded with a video message to his country. His point was simple: forty years of economic integration with the United States is over, and Canada is going to find other partners. The New York Times reports that this trade war is now shaping the fight for Congress in Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Alaska. All states with big Senate races and deep ties to Canada. So there you have it. The president is banning Canadian goods two months before an election, and the senators who have to answer for it skipped his convention. He always says trade wars are easy to win. But this one is a loss for everyone, including Republicans.