In all the years that I’ve been writing this page, the case for investing abroad has been clear. Moreover, a fundamental assumption that we all make about international investments was unspoken but has held true. This assumption was that a for eign government might tax gains but would not dip into your money and treat it as something to be frozen, sanctioned or bargained away for some reason that did not concern you. This assumption was the firm ground upon which international investments rested.
However, recent events have given us enough reason to start re-examining this assumption. We have been watching the United States’ tariff tamasha for almost a year now but the worst of it appeared to have died down with the Iran war. Last week, something much stranger happened: trade talks between the US and its closest ally, Canada, broke down in great acrimony and the US imposed immediate tariffs of 50% on a large basket of goods from Canada. Canada retaliated with equivalent tariffs. As per a statement by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, what caused the final breakdown was an American attempt to restrict Canada’s freedom to negotiate trade deals with other nations without America’s approval. Carney said that it was a question of sovereignty and when he was asked why he sounded as if it was a war situation, he replied that Canada had been attacked. Tell me, are these words that sound like a PM referring to a close ally?
