The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Canada, caught in a trade war with two capricious superpower partners, the United States and China, is negotiating against itself. The Globe's Campbell Clark writes that Canada might as well put up a sign inviting bigger players to come to fleece us. Over the weekend, Chinese ambassador Wang Di made a public offer: If Canada drops its 100-per-cent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, Beijing will drop its punishing tariffs on Canadian agricultural products, notably canola. Saskatchewan's Scott Moe and Manitoba's Wab Kinew called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to take the deal -- upsetting the Ontario-based auto sector. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he understands Mr. Moe and Mr. Kinew are advocating for their provinces' interests, "but there's no damn way we should drop tariffs on China." The president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, Flavio Volpe, had a pointier criticism of the two premiers for taking "the Chinese ambassador's cue to throw us under the bus." It is not smart to snatch at Beijing's offer to sacrifice one sector for the other. The new promise to lift the barriers can only be taken to be a capricious and temporary reprieve.