The Tariff Home Companion: Season 2, Ep 1 – One week. A lot to unpack.

The Tariff Home Companion is back – with the same commitment to clear, expert analysis and none of the noise. Each episode cuts through the headlines to explain what's actually happening, what it means for Canada and what businesses and advisers need to watch. Hosts Rambod Behboodi and Stephen de Boer bring decades of front-line trade experience to every conversation. Rambod is senior counsel at BLG. Stephen is a former Canadian ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), former defence and foreign policy adviser to the Prime Minister and currently a partner at Wellington Advocacy. Together, they explain what trade policy actually means – and why it matters. Key moments: 0:00 - Introduction 2:40 - CUSMA extension 5:53 - Section 301 forced labour laws 10:25 - Is it the correct application of Section 301? 12:40 - Is there a way for USTR to wrest tariffs away from commerce? 20:13 - What's a government to do? 24:26 - Do we globally have a collective action problem when it comes to China? 27:43 - New TRQ framework - are we over-capturing? 30:28 - Where are we? Is there some method in all of this madness? 35:10 - Canada's purchase of non-US military material in enhancement of defense spending 39:48 - Are we moving to a defense industrial policy? 43:13 - Do you see a grand strategy? 46:48 - Wrap up