Lionel Talbot 🍏🍎

David Cochrane “well, just days ahead of the midterms, u.s. president donald trump is once again name-dropping canada on the campaign trail.” President Trump “we're not going to subsidize canada to $90 billion, and now we put tariffs on them, and they're treating us extremely nicely lately.” David Cochrane “prime minister mark carney was asked today about the state of trade talks and whether the united states has moved on any of canada's red lines.” Mark Carney “discoverability of canadian culture, french language culture in canada, where the u.s. candidly tried to have restrictions on those. we would not accept them. that was, by the way, the talks were over with that. there were other issues that would have had to be resolved at that, and the u.s. has publicly walked back from those positions.” David Cochrane “u.s. senator peter welch is in montreal today to meet with business leaders, and he joins me now. senator, it's always good to see you. thank you for joining us again today.” Peter Welch “thank you.” David Cochrane “i wonder what your sense is of where things are right now between canada and the u.s. on trade talks, because president donald trump has suggested there's progress. do you get the sense there is? do you think there could be a deal anytime soon, maybe by midterms?” Peter Welch “well, obviously, i always hope so, but we had a deal, and it was blown up by the president. the reality is that he's been very erratic and very unreliable. we had a wonderful usmca trade agreement, and the president bragged about that as being the best ever and tore it up. so i'll believe it when i see it, but we want an agreement, most of us in congress. who knows what the president wants?” David Cochrane “well, you're from the part of the united states that knows canada quite well, and a lot of voters in maine and michigan and other states, they may be worried about the cost of what's happening with canada. do you think this is smoke from the white house to try and ease their concerns ahead of the midterms on tuesday, because that's certainly the sense at some senior levels of the government here in canada?” Peter Welch “well, that's definitely part of it, no question. these tariffs that have been doing so much damage, some of those were waived for the maine senate races, susan collins. so there's definitely a lot of politics here. the bottom line is that the president is acting unilaterally in ways that are profoundly damaging to vermont, to the united states, and to canada. and most of us in congress, including my republican colleagues, totally oppose tariffs and have had a very strong appreciation for the benefits of having a mutual trade agreement with canada. we want to get back to that. the american people are going to have a chance to weigh in next tuesday as to their view of how trump is handling, among other things, our relationship with canada.” David Cochrane “so let's just look at tuesday. i mean, what is your confidence level that you will have 50 plus, at least 50 other colleagues, either independents who caucus with democrats or straight up democrats in the senate after the vote on tuesday? because the house looks like it's going to go blue.” Peter Welch “well, i'm feeling pretty good about it. here's the deal. what is really disturbing americans now are the tariffs. it's hitting farmers in the midwest. it's hitting manufacturers in vermont. it's the war in iran, which has led to the highest diesel prices. it's cost a farmer in the midwest about 1,500 bucks more to fill up their combine. and, of course, the corruption has become a huge issue. so you've got corruption. you've got the war causing high diesel prices in the tariffs. so the vote is really a referendum on the american people's view of donald trump's stewardship. and i think they're all really angry about what's happened, and they see it as an arbitrary action on the part of the administration that makes absolutely no sense, and it's doing a lot of harm to them and their ability to pay their bills.” David Cochrane “well, it seems pretty clear in a lot of the projections that the house will flip, right, that democrats will gain control of the house. what would you say the odds are of it also happening in the senate? because there's a lot of volatility, and we're seeing republican money and the president himself going to places that they won by big margins in the past that suddenly seem like they're in play. so what do you make of that?” Peter Welch “well, i say our chances are really good. i mean, obviously, i'm hopeful. i really think it's important for the country that we have a check on donald trump, and the republican senate is not that. and i think that's another factor in a lot of these so-called red states, where you've got good, hardworking americans who put their faith in trump and now feel that he's betrayed them. and i think they'll want a check. so that's what gives me some confidence. and by the way, if the americans vote to change the house and the senate, we democrats have to have some humility. it's an indictment of the president. it's not an embrace of us. but what we will have to do is have a concrete agenda that starts addressing these affordability issues. and, by the way, one of the things i'd like us to vote on right away would be abolishing these tariffs on canada.” David Cochrane “well, i mean, if canadians could vote, they'd probably vote for that, senator. you know, there's enough accusations of election interference. we don't need to see any more of that. i'm just curious what you're hearing from business leaders and others in your trip. you're in montreal right now. what they're telling you about what this is doing, what the looming threat of further tariffs on january 1 might do, and if you get the sense the canadian-u.s. relationship can snap back to something close to normal, even if the president's trade agenda is altered.” Peter Welch “well, i think prime minister carney was right. it's a rupture. trust has been broken. but what i'm hearing from a canadian business is identical to what i hear from vermont. these costs are very disruptive to their business. they have to be passed on to the consumers. they're erratic. they're on again, off again, so nobody can plan, and it's doing incredible harm. but what i'm also hearing from canada, and this is a message i'm going to bring back to my republican colleagues, canada is moving on. i'm here today in montreal, and we've got the canada-eu meeting. and what you're seeing is canada is making other arrangements. they're not going to wait around for when things, quote, go back to normal. now, i want to do everything i can to get us there, but we've got an erratic president who's trying to bully canada and others, and i admire canada for standing up to them.” David Cochrane “well, you're there, as the european union is there, for whatever the arrangement will be called. it's going to be deeper cooperation and ties and exchange of information and working together on the big industries of this century, right? critical minerals, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, all that kind of stuff. the united arab emirates were here recently for a state visit and big $70 billion investments on the table, and narendra modi is coming to sign a free trade deal in a month. there is a real push on the diversification agenda, and i just wonder, like, do you think, because the experience we have is not a lot of americans pay attention to what we're doing up here, do you think that diversification is shifting away, is resonating with enough americans at this point, or does it matter in their big picture?” Peter Welch “no, it absolutely does matter, because our businesses are hurting as a result of the tariffs, and then they see canada making other arrangements, so our businesses get apprehensive that they'll lose their markets. and by the way, the issue is not just diversification. the issue is reliability. what america has squandered with president trump is that sense that america is good for its word, that we're reliable, and the corruption in government is even fostering more lack of confidence that everything will be on the level. so i think it's absolutely essential for the well-being of the united states that we get back to something normal, we accept the rule of law, we rely on building trusting relationships that will sustain and endure.” David Cochrane “yeah, there's certainly been a trust rupture. i think that's not just at a governmental level, but at a citizen to citizen level in some way. and i just wonder what you think might change after the midterms on that, senator, like if donald trump loses, if his party loses the house and the senate, do you think he will be more compliant, or do you think he might be more defiant, and react that way?” Peter Welch “let me be very candid. if the democrats win the house and the senate, that doesn't mean we have the power to do what we want in changing the full agenda. we've got a president who has a veto pen, and he'll use it. and we've also got a president who's been very erratic in what he wants to do, when and how. and it's often for personal reasons. what winning on tuesday would do is give us a chance to begin that process of repair. but we won't control what president trump ultimately does, but it will be a strong signal that the american people are really fed up with the way business has been going, and the president and his team is going to have to take that into account. so i see this as a beginning of restoration, but by no means a guarantee.” David Cochrane “senator peter welch, we always appreciate the time. thanks for joining us again today, sir.” Peter Welch “thank you.”