The new US president opened the front of the trade wars yesterday by confirming his will to proceed with the imposition of an additional 25% on products imported from two neighboring countries, the and , from February 1.
“We’re anticipating (incl. additional tariffs) 25% in Mexico and Canada because they’re letting a lot of people (…) into (the U.S.) and a lot of fentanyl as well,” the Republican said hours after being sworn in. of the White House.
He added that he intended the additional tariffs to take effect on February 1.
It is one of during his election campaign — although, in theory at least, the two US neighbors are protected by the “free trade” agreement that was revised and signed during his first term. Mr. At the time, Trump presented this agreement as the “best possible”.
Canada’s reaction
Reacting to the announcement, Canada’s foreign minister, Melanie Jolie, called it an “important moment for Canada,” calling on her fellow citizens to remain “united.”
“Our country is prepared to face any scenario but we continue to believe that it would be a mistake for the US government to proceed with the imposition of (additional) customs duties,” said Dominic LeBlanc, responsible for the Finance portfolio in the Canadian government.
Both the Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar were falling against the US dollar following Donald Trump’s remarks. Investors appeared to discount a decline in the value of these countries’ exports.
Before his election victory, Donald Trump appeared determined to move ahead with imposing new tariffs more broadly on all goods imported into the US to protect American manufacturing. It does not rule out the possibility that they will reach 60% or even 100% for some categories of Chinese products.
Asked by the press if these were still his intentions, Donald Trump said yesterday that he was not “yet ready” to announce such measures and that he would discuss them with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
With his executive order, the new occupant of the White House demanded that the administration ascertain the causes of his country’s trade deficits and “recommend appropriate measures, such as the imposition of generalized additional tariffs.”
“Customs duties are among the most beautiful expressions in the vocabulary”
“I always say that tariffs are one of the nicest expressions in the vocabulary,” Donald Trump joked earlier in front of thousands of supporters gathered in Washington.
If foreign companies want to avoid U.S. tariff barriers, “the only thing they can do is build factories in the U.S. and pay Americans very good wages,” said Howard Latnick, whom the new president has named a new secretary Trade.
Eurozone member states as a whole—they export more goods to the U.S. than anyone—are also in the new president’s crosshairs.
“We will force Europeans to buy our oil and gas”
Europeans “are tough, very tough. They don’t buy our vehicles, they don’t buy our agricultural products, they hardly buy anything,” said Mr. Trump yesterday at the White House. “We will therefore regulate this problem by imposing tariffs or forcing Europeans to buy our oil and our gas.”
The European Union is “ready to defend its economic interests” if necessary, European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis assured yesterday in Brussels, warning at the same time that any trade war would have “real costs for the whole world, including the US”.
Experts expect that a possible increase in tariffs would lead to a rise in inflation, something that Donald Trump and his administration rule out
US companies are also warning against retaliation from targeted countries, particularly retaliatory tariffs, which would hit US exports.
