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In a world of increasing systemic complexity, policymakers are tempted to grasp at intuitive but often misguided levers. Among the most misunderstood is the tariff. While it presents as a decisive tool—tangible, nationalistic, even patriotic—it is, in reality, a blunt instrument applied to a multi-loop dynamic system. The 2025 U.S. tariff strategy, when viewed through a systems lens, reveals feedback loops, time delays, unintended consequences, and deeply entrenched structural imbalances. What masquerades as national self-protection is often a redistribution of cost and risk across time, sectors, and scales.

The landscape of small business in the United States has undergone significant changes over the past few decades, with a marked decline in new business formations and overall economic dynamism. Several studies and reports, including those from the Brookings Institution, the Kauffman Foundation, the Economic Innovation Group, and the U.S. Census Bureau, have detailed these trends. For Canadian small business owners, understanding these findings can provide valuable insights and cautionary lessons to navigate similar challenges in our own economy.