The new tariffs kick the RCSubGuy in the Nuts

[RCSubGuy]

I'm not going to get into politics. These are just facts.

As many of you know, I recently made a massive investment in a ton of RC subs from two great guys up north in Canada. A massive investment. A north-of-$25k-investment. We had the whole deal figured out. They were going to drive across the border. I had a customs agent lined up. Crossing as a proper commercial shipment. From there, they were going to meet me at SUBFEST for the handoff.

Then... a certain someone enacted a 50% tariff on "Canadian made goods". Yes, it's in place now. Yes, it pertains to our submarines. Yes, it's 50%.

So now, if I want my boats down here and not up there, I need to pay another $12,500 in tariffs.

I don't know what I'm going to do. This is bad. Very bad. I depleted my company account to make this work assuming I'd have boats to sell in a few weeks. Now... who knows?

[Das Boot]

Well, it’s a crock of ****. What else can I say. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail, and it won’t last long.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

That certain someone is making this country stronger and safer, and part of that is pressing upon our international trading partners the need to work out fair trade deals. Tariffs are one means of getting their attention.

I applaud that certain someone's take-charge attitude and support him in this and almost all other foreign and domestic positions that guy has put forward.

MAGA!

David

[RCSubGuy]

I agree that the U.S. should push its trading partners for fair trade. Canada absolutely has some protectionist policies worth challenging. My issue is how these tariffs were implemented.

A few facts worth considering:

• The often-quoted 200–300% Canadian tariffs apply primarily to specific agricultural products above negotiated quotas, not American goods generally.
• Much of U.S.–Canada trade has historically been duty-free under USMCA, an agreement negotiated during Trump's first term.
• The current dispute centers largely on dairy, alcohol and automobiles, yet the new 50% tariffs hit hundreds of unrelated Canadian products.
• They were implemented with virtually no warning or transition period, leaving American businesses like me holding the bag on purchases and contracts already in progress.
• Most importantly, Canada doesn't pay the tariff—the American importer does. That cost ultimately gets absorbed by U.S. businesses or passed on to American consumers.

I'm all for using leverage to negotiate fair trade. But suddenly taxing hundreds of unrelated products 50% is an extremely blunt instrument that also punishes Americans.