Trump imposes tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, which increases the possibility of price increase in the US

Palm Beach, Florida, USA (AP) – The president of the United States, Donald Trump, signed an order on Saturday to impose high tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, which meets a campaign promise, But it also raises the risk that it may cause greater inflation and disturbances in the business of North America.

Trump’s order also includes a mechanism to increase tariffs if affected nations retaliate against the United States, something they probably have planned to do.

The decision throws the world economy and Trump’s own political mandate to combat inflation to a possible chaos, although the Republican president published on social networks that it was necessary “to protect Americans.”

The tariffs raise the risk of an economic confrontation with the two largest commercial partners in the United States, Mexico and Canada, which would disrupt a commercial relationship of decades with the possibility of harsh reprisals by these two nations. If maintained, tariffs could also cause significant inflation worsen .

Trump declared an economic emergency to impose 10% tariffs on all imports from China and 25% to imports from Mexico and Canada. However, it placed a 10% tariff on energy imported by Canada, such as oil, natural gas and electricity.

Tariffs would come into force on Tuesday, which will possibly establish a confrontation in North America that could sabotage economic growth. A new analysis of the Yale Budget Laboratory exposed the possible damage to the United States economy and indicated that the average American home would lose the equivalent of $ 1,170 in revenue from taxes. Economic growth would slow down and inflation would get worse, and the situation could be worse if Canada, Mexico and China retaliate.

Meanwhile, the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced in a publication in the social network X that instructed her secretary of Economy that implemented an answer that includes “tariff and non -tariff measures” in defense of the interests of Mexico.

“We categorically reject the slander made by the White House to the Government of Mexico to have alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intentionist intention in our territory,” Sheinbaum wrote.

“If the United States government and its agencies would like to attend to the serious consumption of fentanil in their country, they can, for example, combat the sale of narcotics in the streets of its main cities, what they do not do and the money laundering that is generated by This illegal activity that has done so much to its population, ”adds the publication.

For his part, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said Canada “is ready” to respond to tariffs that the US government announced.

In a message posted on his X account, Trudeau said he was going to talk to the Mexican president to discuss the decision of the US government and that he will later pronounce a speech to the Canadian people.

“We didn’t want this, but Canada is ready,” he said.

A high -ranking official of the US government, who insisted to maintain anonymity to inform journalists, said the lowest tariff on energy reflected the desire to minimize any disruptive increase in the price of gasoline or public services. That is a sign that White House officials understood the risk of inflation. The price increases under the government of former president Joe Biden caused frustration among the electorate, something that helped Trump win the presidential elections last year.

The order signed by Trump did not contain any mechanism to grant exemptions, said the official, a possible negative impact for housing builders that depend on Canadian wood, as well as for farmers, car manufacturers and other industries.

The Trump government imposed tariffs as a measure to force the three countries to stop the propagation and manufacture of fentanyl, in addition to pressing Canada and Mexico to limit any illegal immigration to the United States.

The official did not provide specific reference points that could be fulfilled to withdraw the new tariffs, and only said that the best measure will be less Americans dying due to fentanyl addiction.

The order will also allow tariffs on Canadian imports of less than $ 800. Imports below that sum can currently cross the United States without customs or taxes.

“It does not make much economic sense,” said William Reinsch, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the United States commercial official. “Historically, most of our tariffs on raw materials have been low because we want to obtain cheaper materials so that our manufacturers are competitive … now, what are you talking about? He is talking about tariffs on raw materials. I don’t understand the economy of that. ”

The Republican President is making a great political commitment that his actions will not worsen inflation, they will cause financial repercussions that could destabilize the world economy or cause a rejection of voters. Ap Votetast, an extensive electorate survey in last year’s elections, found that the United States was divided in support for tariffs.

With tariffs, Trump is honoring promises that are in the nucleus of his economic and national security philosophy. But the announcement showed its seriousness on the matter, since some Trump allies had minimized the threat of higher tariffs as mere negotiation tactics.

The president is preparing to impose more levies on imports in a sign that tariffs will be a continuous part of his second term. On Friday, he mentioned that imports of computer chips, steel, oil and natural gas, as well as copper, pharmaceutical drugs and imports of the European Union, could be tariffs – measures that could essentially face the United States against much of the global economy.

It is not clear how tariffs could affect the business investments that Trump said they will occur due to their plans to reduce corporate tax rates and eliminate regulations. Tariffs tend to raise prices for consumers and companies by making more expensive bring foreign products.

Many voters turned to Trump in the November elections last year because they believed that he could better handle inflation that was shot under the command of former Democratic president Joe Biden. But inflation expectations are increasing in the consumer’s feeling index of the University of Michigan, since respondents expect prices to rise 3.3%. That will be higher than the actual annual inflation rate of 2.9% in the December consumer price index.

Trump has said that the government should raise more of its tariff income, as it did before the Income Tax became part of the Constitution in 1913. It alleges, despite the fact that economic evidence indicates otherwise, that The United States was at its richest point in the 1890s under the command of former president William McKinley.

“We were the richest country in the world,” Trump said Friday. “We were a country of tariffs.”

On the other hand, Trudeau warned of Canadians who could face difficult times in the future, but that Ottawa was prepared to respond with retaliation tariffs in case it was necessary, and that US sanctions will be a self -ability.

Trudeau said that Canada already attends Trump’s calls on border security with the implementation of a plan of 1.3 billion Canadian dollars (US $ 900 million) that includes helicopters, new canine equipment and images to obtain images.

Trump still has to get a budget, tax cuts and an increase in the legal indebtedness of the Government through Congress. The result of your tariff plans could strengthen or weaken your position.

The Democrats quickly pointed out that any future change in inflation was a consequence of Trump’s decisions, who is about to begin his third week back as president.

“You are worried about food prices. Don (Trump) is uploading prices with his tariffs, ”published Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer in New York, on the social network X.” You are worried about the prices of tomatoes. Wait for Trump tariffs on Mexico to upload your tomato prices … you are concerned about cars prices. Wait for Trump’s Canada tariffs to upload cars prices, ”he wrote in a series of publications.

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The Associated Press Christopher Sherman journalists in Mexico City and Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this office.

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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.