President Trump deferred a Canadian tariff hours before implementation, citing a close deal. The author criticizes this as Trump "chickening out," highlighting his unpredictable "flip-flops" and extreme policy instability. This pattern, using tariffs as bargaining chips, creates significant market uncertainty and operational challenges for agencies like US Customs. The piece suggests this aligns with a hypothesis that Trump often backs down from threats. It also notes how US-Canada relations evolve, particularly regarding Mark Carney's call for middle powers to unite against such volatile trade tactics, will be closely watched.