The US government reported yesterday that it imposed 25% rates for Canada and Mexico and 10% for China, as President Donald Trump had promised. The White House said the three decrees with the new tariffs had a retaliation clause if the countries hit by the tariff decided to adopt reciprocity.
In the case of Canadian items, oil escaped the ceiling of the rate and was taxed by 10%. There is also the assessment that this lower index will cover items such as natural gas, electricity and uranium. The new rates come into force on Tuesday.
The measure will increase the cost of doing business with the three largest commercial partners in the United States and will start an unprecedented trade war, economists said.
Canada, Mexico and China respond for more than a third of US imports by providing cars, medicines, shoes, wood, electronics, steel and many other products to American consumers.
The US president justifies the measure by stating that countries have done little to contain illegal immigration and drug trafficking, especially fentanile, opioid responsible for an epidemic of US overdose deaths. Yesterday, Trump had no official public commitments. He spent the day at his house in Mar-a-Lago, a luxury resort in Florida, where he played golf and signed the three decrees with the new fees, the White House said.
In recent weeks, Mexican and Canadian authorities have moved to control their borders and try to avoid tariffs. Trudeau said on Friday that Canada would face “difficult times” but that Ottawa was prepared to respond with retaliatory tariffs if necessary. He also said that the country invests $ 900 million in a border control plan that includes helicopters, plus guards with sniffer dogs and drones.
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Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country acted to reduce illegal border crossings and fentanyl trafficking. Although he said he had negotiated with the US government since Trump spoke about the rate for the first time in November last year, she said Mexico is ready to respond.
“Mexico has a plan A, Plan B and Plan C for what the US government decides,” she said this week. Yesterday morning, Claudia met with Mexican business leaders. “I’m not worried. Mexico’s economy is very strong, very solid, ”she said after the meeting. According to Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard, the meeting showed that the country’s private sector was “clenched ranks” around the president in the event of “any commercial arbitrariness”.
A study by the Yale Budget Lab, the Apartisan Research Center, estimated that the proposed tariffs could increase the costs of US families by about $ 1,300 per year (about $ 7,500).
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Productive sector
Entrepreneurs were divided over the measure yesterday. Zach Mottl, president of Atlas Tool Works, a metal manufacturer near Chicago, called “a bold and necessary step to reverse decades of failed business policies and rebuild the US agricultural and manufacturing industries”.
Mottl, who is also president of the prosperity coalition of America, a group that supports tariffs, said in an interview that his factory had difficulty and that he saw many suppliers close their doors in recent decades due to foreign competition. “A universal rate is a great way to generate revenue and start job growth in the United States,” he said.
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John Murphy, senior vice president of the US Chamber of Commerce, disagreed. He said the rates would cause “serious damage to many US manufacturers” and would be “a revenue for the decline.”
Political reaction
In the Legislature, Democrats presented a bill that would take from the president the ability to impose tariffs without the approval of Congress. However, it is unlikely that the proposal will advance a chamber and a Senate controlled by the Republicans.
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“Donald Trump is aiming at his new rates in Mexico, Canada and China, but they will probably hit Americans in their pockets,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader after the announcement of the decrees. “I am worried that these new tariffs further increase costs for US consumers.” (With international agencies)
