Immediate, as announced and expected, was the response of the three partners, which are now subject to their exports to them.
The dance of reactions had been opened earlier, first, Beijing, which warned that it would respond to the US to the US, announcing the imposition of an additional 15% duties on chicken, wheat, corn and cotton entering China from the US. In other American imported products, such as saliva, soy, pork, beef, seafood, fruits, vegetables and dairy products will impose additional 10%duties.
At the same time, the Chinese Treasury in a statement accused Washington of “acting unilaterally, affecting the multilateral trade system” and “weakens the foundations of economic and trade cooperation between China and the US”.
If Washington insists on conducting a “duty war, trade war or any other form of conflict, China is ready to follow it to the end,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman also said.
Trinto: Difficult days are coming, Canada “will not retreat”
The Canadian prime minister then informed reporters that Ottawa was imposing 25% duties on US $ 30 billion imports, accusing the US of “starting a trade war” and Canada “will not retreat”.
“This is a completely stupid” decision by Trump said by Justin Trinto, talking about the duties imposed by the US government. “There is absolutely no excuse or any need for such tariffs today,” adding that the Canadian government will challenge US measures to the World Trade Organization and through the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
He also noted that retaliation includes non -tariff measures, such as reviewing contracts with US companies.
If US duties insist, in 21 days Canada will impose 25% duties on additional imports of US products worth $ 124 billion in Canadian dollars, Trinto said.
He warned the Canadians that they would come in difficult days and said that his government would take business support measures.
New Trump threats
The US president did not leave the Trintho statements, with Trump threatening, via Truthsocial, with new duties, but without specifying exactly what the mechanism of this escalation would be.
“Please, explain to the Governor Trindo of Canada that when it sets up on the US, our pay duties will be increased by the same amount,” Trump wrote in a post on his private platform.
The message was addressed to the “ruler” Trindo, as would the title of the Canadian Prime Minister, if Canada became a US state, something that Trump is constantly mentioned.
Trump’s goal, according to Trindos, is to “destroy the Canadian economy” and then “talk about an attachment” of Canada. In this context, “I do not know what negotiations we can start” with the US, Trindo stressed, noting that Fentanyl’s pretext put forward by the US president to justify the imposition of tariffs on Canadian products, is “completely fake”.
On Sunday “Great” and from Mexico
The Mexican president also announced “tariff and not”. “There is no motivation, reason or excuse for this decision that will influence our people and our nations,” Claudia Seinbaum said.
The imposition of duties on imports from Mexico, the largest world trade partner of the US, is a “offensive, defamatory and unfounded” decision, he added, as government officials negotiated in Washington last week with the Trump government.
Seinbaum is expected to detail these retaliation against Washington on Sunday, at a public meeting in the central Zokalo Square of Mexico.
“Whatever the decision, we have a plan,” he said before the US president’s threats to impose duties. After the latest developments, she reiterated her strategy that is “calm” and “cooperation yes, submission no”.
Mexico has also announced the transfer of 29 suspects for drug traffickers, except for the issuance of the two countries.
Trump’s favorite word and the domino of consequences
Trump had underlined during his election campaign that “duties” is “my favorite word”. He had explained that he wanted to use them to change the US trade balance, fund some of his promises of tax cuts, and impose “respect” the US partners.
The Republican has already stated his intention to impose duties on steel and aluminum imported to the US, but also to launch a research to do the same for forestry products. On Monday, the list and imported agricultural products were added to the list, with Trump assuring that duties will be imposed on April 2.
But the prospect of duties has begun to worry about Americans, both consumers and businesses.
The China -US Business Council, involving 270 US companies, estimated that duties “will throw global competitiveness”.
At the end of February, two indicators of consumer confidence declined a sharp decline, mainly due to the concern for a new US inflation rise, which had just begun to fall to 2% and had already begun to increase in late 2024.
This is a very important economic element, given that Trump had promised to reduce product prices and improve the purchasing power of households.
According to the US Retail Federation, the taxation of Canadians and Mexican products “will force Americans to pay their markets more expensive”.
Yesterday, the ISM announcement on industrial production was accompanied by comments about the fear of some industrial sectors that duties will become the new reality.
Another indicator of Atlanta’s Federal Reserve Bank showed that a violent decline in growth, even severe shrinkage in the first quarter of the year, is expected.
‘Skip’ the stock markets from ‘hot breath’ Trump
European stock markets were significantly declined, as investors appeared anxiously that Europe would be the next target of the US president, after imposing duties on Canada, Mexico and China.
The DAX index of the Frankfurt stock market fell 3.54%to the worst meeting since March 2022.
The CAC 40 in Paris closed by 1.85%, London fell 1.27%and Milan by 3.41%.
Around 18.50 in Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial index fell 1.65%.
The trend for Nasdaq (1.11%) and S&P 500 (1.51%) was also down.
In the currency market, the dollar also fell against the euro by 0.44%, to $ 1,0534 per euro.
Bitcoin fell to $ 82,024 (-13.52%).
In terms of oil, the North Sea Brent fell 1.82%to $ 70.30 a barrel while the US WTI dropped to $ 67.41 (-1.40%).
“Once the duties are implemented (duties) the withdrawal is difficult. The trade war could therefore be a brake for growth, “said XTB analyst Kathlene Brooks.
