The states affected by Trump’s trade measures immediately announced countermeasures: Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday (local time) that his country would also react with “25 percent tariffs to US goods worth $ 155 billion in Canadian dollars”. At the same time, he warned of a break of long -term relationships between the two countries. On Sunday, governmental circles in Ottawa said that Canada will contest the tariffs before the world trade organization.
Mexico is planning tariffs in response to the defense of Mexican interests, “said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. She also rejected the accusations made by Washington in terms of an “alliance” of her government with drug cartels.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced “corresponding countermeasures” on Sunday. For Chinese products, Trump increased the tariffs by ten percentage points. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned the US President of a “commercial or customs war” in which there will be “no winners”. The additional tariffs would “inevitably affect future bilateral cooperation in drug control and” damage “. Beijing also announced a lawsuit against Washington at the WTO.
Trump accuses Mexico, Canada and China not to take enough against the smuggling of the often fatal drug fentanyl to the USA. He also accuses Mexico and Canada that he has not adequately disabled illegal migration to the United States.
The step of the US government was expected. A lower duty of ten percent applies to importing energy resources such as oil and hydrocarbons from Canada. The new tariffs for Canada and Mexico will apply from Tuesday. Experts assume serious consequences for both countries.
The tariffs affect the entire supply chain – from energy to cars to food. Trump relies on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. On the basis of this, the head of state can even exclude the national emergency and restrict trade. The White House said that “the extraordinary threat from illegal foreigners and drugs, including the deadly fentanyl, is a national emergency”.
During a visit to London, Scholz said that world trade had proven to be a “great success story” for all sides and made it possible “prosperity for all of us”. This applies to the EU and Great Britain as well as for the USA. It is therefore now a question of “that we do not divide the world through many duty barriers, but that we make this exchange of goods and services possible for the future”.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) warned the United States of customs restrictions and a trade war with the EU. “As a European, we are prepared for counter-tariffs. The Americans need to know: This is a very bad alternative,” said Habeck at a citizens’ event of the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”.
The European Commission regretted Trump’s measure. “Customs lead to unnecessary economic disorders and heat inflation. They are harmful to all parties,” said a spokesman. He warned that the EU would “react to every trading partner who unjustified or arbitrarily raised tariffs to EU products”. So far, however, no concrete plans for tariffs against the EU have been known.
In the past, Trump had accused the EU of treating the USA “very, very unfair” in trade questions. After returning to the White House, he also renewed a customs threat to the EU.
Experts assume that Trump’s procedure should primarily build negotiating mass in the already planned new negotiations of existing trade agreements.
Economists estimate that Canada and Mexico could lose 3.6 to two percent of their economic output due to the new tariffs. For the United States, the decline in gross domestic product (GDP) would be significantly lower, according to estimates, this is 0.3 percent.
Trump said on Sunday that the tariffs could possibly cause economic “pain” US citizens. However, these are “worth the price” to secure the interests of the United States, the US President said in his online service Truth Social.