A real world trade war unleashed by Donald Trump, who yesterday late in the Italian evening signed the executive order to impose duties of 25% against Mexico and Canada and 10% on China . Canadian energy will also be taxed, by 10%, the White House reported.
“Today’s actions are necessary to hold China, Mexico, and Canada accountable for their failure to stem the flow of poisonous drugs into the United States,” the White House wrote in X, referring to fentanyl, the drug more powerful than heroin that has killed millions in the U.S.
" During the election campaign I promised the American people that I would protect them from the flow of illegal migrants and drugs. That's my duty and they voted overwhelmingly for it ," said Donald Trump instead.
The response was immediate. Canada will retaliate by imposing tariffs on US goods starting Tuesday. " We will impose a 25% tariff on American products totaling 155 billion Canadian dollars (102 billion euros, ed.)," announced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau .
The first round of tariffs will hit C$30 billion worth of U.S. goods on Tuesday, followed by additional duties on C$125 billion worth of products in three weeks. "We're certainly not looking for escalation, but we will defend Canada, Canadians and Canadian jobs," Trudeau said.
The tariffs will apply to "everyday goods" such as beer, wine, fruit, vegetables, appliances, lumber, plastics and "so much more," the Canadian prime minister said. Trudeau went on to stress that the trade conflict will have "real consequences" for Canadians and Americans alike , including job losses, higher food and gasoline costs, potential closures of auto assembly plants and blocked access to Canadian nickel, potash, uranium, steel and aluminum.
Same thing with Mexico . President Claudia Sheinbaum called Trump's accusation that her government has links to drug trafficking "slanderous," accused U.S. arms manufacturers of doing business with these criminal groups, and announced the imposition of tariffs on U.S. products.
Beijing , for its part, "firmly opposes the duties" and anticipates appealing to the World Trade Organization for the "illegal" practices to the detriment of Made in China. And it announces the adoption of "corresponding countermeasures" .
China, Beijing stresses, "is one of the most stringent countries in the world in the fight against drug trafficking, both in terms of policy and implementation."
And in the background of this trade war there is the European Union . For now Trump has focused on his neighbors and his great adversary, China, but soon the duties will also reach the EU, as the American president has repeatedly threatened, speaking of "unfair trade treatment" by his overseas allies. And Brussels is "ready to defend its legitimate interests, if necessary".
(Unioneonline/L)
