Canada, Mexico, and China Issue Warnings Over Trump’s Tariff Proposals

Representatives from Canada, Mexico, and China have cautioned that US President-elect Donald Trump’s commitment to implement extensive tariffs targeting the United States’ three primary trading partners carries the potential to destabilize the economies of all four nations. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum stated, “To one tariff will follow another in response and so on, until we put our common businesses at risk.” On Monday night, Trump pledged to implement a 25% tariff on products originating from Mexico and Canada, alongside an extra 10% on items from China. He stated these levies aimed to curb drug trafficking and unauthorized immigration. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reported having conversed with Trump shortly following the declaration and indicated plans to convene a meeting with Canada’s provincial leaders on Wednesday to deliberate a course of action. A spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington DC told the BBC: “No-one will win a trade war or a tariff war.” This global opposition emerged one day after Trump disclosed his agenda for his inaugural day in office, January 20, via a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. Trudeau affirmed his nation’s readiness to collaborate with the US through “constructive ways.” Trudeau told reporters, “This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on, and that’s what we’ll do.” During a telephone conversation with Trump, Trudeau stated that they addressed trade and border security, with the prime minister highlighting that migrant crossings at the Canadian border were significantly fewer than those at the US-Mexico border. Trump’s staff refused to verify the phone conversation. However, Trump’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, commented that international leaders had aimed to “develop stronger relationships” with Trump, asserting that “he represents global peace and stability.” On Tuesday, Mexican President Sheinbaum informed reporters that neither intimidation nor import duties would resolve the “migration phenomenon” or drug use within the US. Sheinbaum, reading from a letter she indicated she would dispatch to Trump, additionally cautioned that Mexico would respond by levying its own duties on US imports, a move that would “put common enterprises at risk.” She asserted that Mexico had implemented measures to address unauthorized migration into the US, stating that “caravans of migrants no longer reach the border”. The drug issue, she further noted, “is a problem of public health and consumption in your country’s society”. Sheinbaum, who assumed office last month, highlighted that American automobile manufacturers produce some components in Mexico and Canada. She said, “If tariffs go up, who will it hurt? General Motors.” Concurrently, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, informed the BBC that “China-US economic and trade co-operation is mutually beneficial in nature.” He refuted claims that China permits chemicals utilized in the production of illicit drugs, such as fentanyl, to be trafficked into the US. Liu said, “China has responded to US request for verifying clues on certain cases and taken action.” He added, “All these prove that the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality.” President Joe Biden has maintained the tariffs on China initiated by Trump during his initial term, and has also imposed additional ones. Presently, most goods exchanged between the two nations are subject to tariffs, specifically 66.4% of US imports from China and 58.3% of Chinese imports from the US. Addressing lawmakers in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Trudeau conveyed that “the idea of going to war with the United States isn’t what anyone wants.” He urged them not to “panic” and to collaborate. He said, “That is the work we will do seriously, methodically. But without freaking out.” Provincial leaders in Canada indicated a willingness to levy their own tariffs against the US. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday, “The things we sell to the United States are the things they really need.” She added, “We sell them oil, we sell them electricity, we sell them critical minerals and metals.” In 2022, the United States’ northern neighbor was responsible for approximately $437bn (£347bn) of US imports and served as the primary market for US exports, according to American data. Approximately 75% of Canada’s total exports are directed to the US. On Monday, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, stated that the suggested tariff would be “devastating to workers and jobs in both Canada and the US.” Ford said, “To compare us to Mexico is the most insulting thing I’ve ever heard.” The premiers of Quebec, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia reiterated Ford’s sentiments, and a post on the X account of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith recognized that Trump possessed “valid concerns related to illegal activities at our shared border.” The Canadian dollar, also known as the Loonie, has significantly decreased in value since Trump’s pledge to implement tariffs on Canadian imports starting in January. The Canadian dollar dropped beneath 71 US cents, marking the Loonie’s lowest point since May 2020, a period when Trump previously menaced Canadian goods with tariffs during his initial term as US president. The Mexican peso reached its lowest valuation this year, approximately 4.8 cents.