Washington: President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and
Washington: President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies.
Starting just past midnight, imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25 per cent, with Canadian energy products subject to 10 per cent import duties.
The 10 per cent tariff that Trump placed on Chinese imports in February was doubled to 20 per cent, and Beijing retaliated Tuesday with tariffs of up to 15 per cent on a wide array of US farm exports.
It also expanded the number of US companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would slap tariffs on more than USD 100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. Mexico didn’t immediately detail any retaliatory measures.
The US president’s moves raised fears of higher inflation and the prospect of a devastating trade war even as he promised the American public that taxes on imports are the easiest path to national prosperity. He has shown a willingness to buck the warnings of mainstream economists and put his own public approval on the line, believing that tariffs can fix what ails the country.
“It’s a very powerful weapon that politicians haven’t used because they were either dishonest, stupid or paid off in some other form,” Trump said Monday at the White House. “And now we’re using them.”
The Canada and Mexico tariffs were supposed to begin in February, but Trump agreed to a 30-day suspension to negotiate further with the two largest US trading partners.
The stated reason for the tariffs is to address drug trafficking and illegal immigration, and both countries say they’ve made progress on those issues. But Trump has also said the tariffs will only come down if the US trade imbalance closes, a process unlikely to be settled on a political timeline.
