Washington (AP) – US President Donald Trump announced Friday that from Saturday will impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, and 10% to China’s products, which entails the risk of Price increases for US consumers even though he hinted that he will try to mitigate the impact on oil imports.
Trump had threatened to impose tariffs in order to guarantee greater cooperation from countries to stop unauthorized immigration and traffic of chemicals used to elaborate fentanyl, but also promised to use tariffs to boost national manufacturing and increase income for the federal government.
“As of tomorrow, these tariffs will come into force,” the White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt told journalists. “They are promises made and promises fulfilled by the president.”
In statements after the press at the Oval office, Trump indicated that there was nothing that the three countries could do to prevent tariffs from entering into force on Saturday.
Tariffs carry political and economic risks for Trump, which only has been for two weeks of his second term. Many voters supported the Republican for the promise that he could control inflation, but the possibility of tariffs could trigger higher prices and affect the automotive, wood, agricultural and energy sectors.
Trump was also criticized for starting a commercial dispute with Canada and Mexico, neighbors and allies of the United States, as with China, its geopolitical rival.
“We should concentrate on facing competitors who manipulate the game, such as China, instead of attacking our allies,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. “If these tariffs enter completely in force, prices of everything will increase, from food to cars and gasoline, making the middle class families even more difficult to subsist.”
Trump had said he was the possibility of issuing an exemption for imports of Canadian and Mexican oil. On Friday he commented that he was applying a lower tariff to the crude, but it was not clear if that reduction will be implemented when promulgated on Saturday.
“I’m probably going to reduce the tariff a little in that,” Trump said. “We believe we are going to lower it to 10%.”
Washington imported almost 4.6 million barrels per day of oil from Canada in October and 563,000 barrels of Mexico, according to the administration of energy information. The daily production of the United States in that month averaged almost 13.5 million barrels per day.
Trump had previously stated that a 10% tariff to Chinese imports would be additional to other import taxes charged on the products of that country.
The president declared that more tariffs will be imposed, although he offered few details. “We are going to put tariffs on integrated circuits (computers), we will put tariffs on oil and gas. That will happen quite soon, I think that around February 17, ”Trump said, and also promised to impose copper tariffs and the European Union.
Shortly after Leavitt spoke, the S&P 500 stock index went down and largely lost almost all his earnings of the day.
“It is expected that the three countries will take reprisals,” said Wendy Cutler, former commercial negotiator of the United States. China responded aggressively to the tariffs that Trump imposed on Chinese products during his first term, pointing to the president’s rural supporters with tariffs on the agricultural products of the United States.
Kurt Tong, former Washington general consul in Hong Kong and Macao, and now managing partner in The Asia Group consulting, said he was surprised by the new tariffs to China. Trump had shown “a real effort” to establish communication channels with Chinese President Xi Jinping, observed Tong, and the imposition of tariffs on Chinese products “at this very early stage” would make it difficult to reach the negotiating table. He foresees a “measurable and significant” retaliation of Beijing.
Canada and Mexico have said that they have prepared the option of using retaliation tariffs if necessary, which in turn could trigger a broader commercial conflict that, according to economic analysis, could harm the growth and further accelerate inflation.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared on Friday that Canada is ready to answer if Trump continues with tariffs, but did not give details.
“We are ready with a determined and energetic response, but reasonable and immediate,” he said. “It is not what we want, but if he advances, we will act.”
Trudeau indicated that tariffs would have “disastrous consequences” for the United States, because they would put American jobs at risk and cause price increases. The Canadian president reiterated that less than 1% of fentanil and illegal crosses to that country come from Canada.
For her part, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum declared on Friday that Mexico has maintained a dialogue with Trump’s team since before she returned to the White House, but emphasized that Mexico has a “plan A, Plan B, Plan C so that what the United States government decides. ”
“Now it is very important that the people of Mexico know that we are always going to defend the dignity of our people, we will always defend respect for our sovereignty and a dialogue as equals … without subordination,” said Sheinbaum.
Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the China Embassy in Washington, said the two countries must solve their differences through dialogue and consultation. “There is no winner in a commercial or tariff war, which does not serve the interests of any of the parties or the world,” Liu said in a statement. “Despite the differences, our two countries share enormous common interests and space for cooperation.”
A study this month for Warwick McKibbin and Marcus Noland of the Peterson Institute of International Economics concluded that 25% tariffs to Canada and Mexico, and 10% to China, “would damage all the economies involved, including the American.”
“For Mexico”, it is indicated in the study, “a 25% tariff would be catastrophic. In addition, the economic decline caused by the tariff could increase incentives for Mexican migrants to cross the border illegally to the United States, directly contradicting another priority of the Trump government. ”
Cutler, now vice president of Asia Society Policy Institute – a non -profit organism – said that the magnitude of economic damage will depend on how long the tariffs are in force.
If it’s just a few days, “that’s a thing. If they are in force for weeks or months, we will see interruptions in the supply chain, higher costs for US manufacturers, which will lead to higher prices for US consumers, ”he said. “It could have macroeconomic impacts. It could affect the stock market. Then, internationally, it could lead to more tension with our business partners and hinder our ability to work with them. ”
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The journalists of the AP Didi Tang, Will Weissert and Paul Wiseman in Washington, Jim Morris in Vancouver, and Christopher Sherman in Mexico City 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.
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