The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that when is it acceptable to stand up to the United States? According to the Trump administration, never. A Globe editorial says that is the unmistakable message of its latest bullying. President Donald Trump announced Monday that he would levy 50-per-cent tariffs on a long list of Canadian exports, affecting goods ranging from cement to wine to hockey sticks. A fact-sheet issued to accompany Mr. Trump's tariff proclamations argued that Canada was engaged in "continued discrimination against and unreasonable and unequal treatment of U.S. commerce" and noted that only two countries in the world -- Canada and China -- had retaliated against early tariffs the U.S. had imposed. It's important to understand that "discrimination" against the U.S. includes Canadian policies that were put in place specifically in response to earlier economic attacks by Mr. Trump. That is "retaliation," in his eyes. This is the logic of a country that seeks vassals, not partners. The U.S. position is that we can hit you as much as we want and if you hit us back that's unfair. Mr. Trump's word is not his bond. Any agreement with the United States can be jettisoned whenever he feels like it.