The trade wars have officially begun. President Donald Trump issued 25% tariffs against imports from Canada and Mexico on Saturday, as well as an additional 10% on all Chinese goods imported to the country.
While many have criticized and cast doubt on Trump’s plans to push countries to negotiate trade deals or solve other issues like immigration and drug trafficking, the president defended his move as necessary action.
“The ‘Tariff Lobby,’ headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify Countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and too many others to name, continue the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS that are allowed to so freely flow into AMERICA,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!”
Trump said that if companies decided to make their products in the United States, they would not have to suffer the consequences of his tariffs.
“This will be the Golden Age of America!” Trump wrote. “Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!). But we will make America great again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid. We are a country that is now being run with common sense — and the results will be spectacular!!!”
In another post, Trump offered more defense for his decision to issue the tariffs, saying the US did not need Canadian products and that the country “should become our Cherished 51st State.”
However, Canadian goods have a huge spot in the US economy, as the US Department of Agriculture reports that the US imported close to $40 billion in agricultural products, including beef, pork, grains, potatoes, and more, coming from the country in 2023 alone. For Mexico, that number grew to more than $45 billion.
The US also imported $69 billion worth of cars and light trucks from Mexico in 2023, as well as $37 billion from Canada.On top of that, the auto parts industry will also impact American-made cars, as US manufacturers rely on almost $78 billion worth of imported auto parts from Mexico and $20 billion from Canada.
Action has already been taken in response to Trump’s tariffs, as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday his country would impose a 25% tariff on more than $100 billion of US goods.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said it was planning to file a legal case against the US at the World Trade Organization.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum shared that her team is also working on a response but has not put one in place yet.
When it comes to how Americans might be affected, the Tax Foundation has estimated that Trump’s tariffs will result in an average tax increase of $830 per household in the US.