world mirror
Canada as the 51st state of the United States? There are places where Americans and Canadians live together as closely as if there is no limit. And that is exactly why people unsettle the Trump expression.
The heating vibrates in a local supermarket in Newport in the north. Fat snowflakes fall outside. The winter here can be very cold. It is less than 15 minutes to the Canadian border.
“Good Neighbor” is the name of a regional beer variety that is on the shelf. The heating and the cooled political relationship with the neighbor Canada are worried.
He is one of the supermarket managers and fears tariffs on oil. Because at home and in the supermarket, Thomas heats up with oil – and if the price increases through the tariffs, the expenses would also increase.
In the worst case, they would have to make their products more expensive, he explains. He is already trying to explain to the customer what could come up with through a trade conflict between the USA and Canada.
The 30-year-old believes that the idea of the US president of turning Canada into a state is ridiculous. “We should recognize the sovereignty of the other country”. It is “silly” and “stupid” that this is an issue at all.
What prices do customers come up with when a trade war breaks out with Canada? They are worried in the supermarket in Newport.
Wood could also become more expensive
Tim Terney sits in the café in the neighboring room. On behalf of the Federal State of Vermont, he maintains contact with companies from abroad. In this way, investments in the state should flow and new jobs are to be created. They succeeded in luring companies from Canada to the region.
The neighboring country is the most important trading partner for Vermont. Of course, it is good that at the political level it is ensured that it is worthwhile for foreign companies to create jobs in the United States – a Trump promise. However, the impending trade war does not help.
A big problem from his point of view: wood. Even if Trump claimed that the United States was not dependent on goods from Mexico or Canada: Canadian wood is one of the top 10 imports.
Building affordable houses for old people and workers has the highest priority for the state, says Terney. And for that you need a lot of wood. Many with whom he speak to this may be more expensive.
Uncertainty with entrepreneurs
An entrepreneur with whom Terney is in contact is Denis Larue. Together with his brother, he runs a family business that her father founded.
He proudly works on the yellow cover over the engine of a brand new snow plow. The machine is a cross -border joint project.
At the rear, an maple leaf sticks, the Canada symbol. “The chassis is produced in Canada, the engine in the USA, part of the engine is mounted in Mexico,” explains Larue.
The company has its headquarters in Canada. The family entrepreneur has customers in both countries. When Trump threatened tariffs, he almost finished two of his snow plows to the United States to avoid problems.
Denis Larue's vehicles are a real community product. That could be a problem.
Where do the additional costs end up?
His company poses problems that Trump's trade policy is so unpredictable at the moment: “We conclude our contracts one to two years in advance.” If it becomes more expensive through tariffs, all contracts would have to be re -rolled up.
Larue wants to have some of his machines assembled in the USA. So he wants to avoid components too often cross the border between Canada and the USA. Of course, the jobs in the United States create. But his machines would be more expensive even without tariffs because he had to build double structures.
Many of his US customers are, for example, airport operators – and therefore often the state, says Larue. In the end, taxpayers paid them when their machines became more expensive.
The yellow-gray library is in the middle of the border. From a distance it is difficult to see where the USA ends and Canada begins.
Friendships across the border
Tourists in the small town of Derby Line experience how closely the two countries are connected. There is a more than 120 -year -old library there. An adhesive strip in the middle of the wooden floor marks the border between the USA and Canada. Holding shelves on and off are on and next to the line, in it children's books in English and French.
The Haskell Free Library and Opera House is in the middle of the border. It is an institution on both sides of the border and was built as a meeting point for Americans and Canadians.
The entrance is in the USA. Actually, entry and exit from Canada have to report to the border police. If you only want to go to the library. An old exemption applies.
Kathy Conversse likes to show visitors to the cross -border library in Derby Line. But the political mood, she says, has changed significantly.
There are small flags in the entrance area that visitors can take in hand for a photo. Kathy Converse has been guiding tourists through the old building for 20 years. “We have never had the political pressure we are getting now,” she says.
That makes her sad. The library is not exclusively tourist attraction. “People come from both sides of the border. They read here, use the computers. Many young mothers come with their young children. We can move here without restrictions – a very pleasant atmosphere,” enthuses the 78 -year -old.
The small American-Canadian community is a family. It is important for the community that the countries do not areolated each other.
Discussions about tariffs, more border controls – this is what the gray -haired lady gets with a caro scarf. All of this separates people emotionally at some point. When she thinks about it, she feels like crying.
