On reflection I believe you are right. As a recent blog post noted: "What he [Trump] cares about is power and domination. And that’s what these tariff threats are designed to secure: compliance from Canada and Mexico on anything and everything. "To repeat: Whether or not Trump imposes a tariff tomorrow, no matter its size, the threat of tariffs will remain." Source: https://blaynehaggart.com/2025/01/31/why-us-tariffs-arent-canadas-biggest-problem-and-what-to-do-about-it/