US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered sweeping tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, demanding they stanch the flow of fentanyl — and illegal immigrants in the case of Canada and Mexico — into the United States, kicking off a trade war that could dent global growth and reignite inflation.
Mexico and Canada, the top two US trading partners, immediately vowed retaliatory tariffs, while China said it would challenge Trump’s move at the World Trade Organisation and take other “countermeasures”.
In three executive orders, Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10pc on goods from China, starting on Tuesday.
He vowed to keep the duties in place until what he described as a national emergency over fentanyl, a deadly opioid, and illegal immigration to the US ends. The White House provided no other parameters for determining what might satisfy Trump’s demands.
Responding to concerns raised by oil refiners and Midwestern states, Trump imposed only a 10pc duty on energy products from Canada, with Mexican energy imports facing the full 25pc tariff.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would respond with 25pc tariffs against $155 billion of US goods, including beer, wine, lumber and appliances, beginning with $30bn taking effect on Tuesday and $125bn 21 days later.
Trudeau warned US citizens that Trump’s tariffs would raise their grocery and gasoline costs, potentially shutting down auto assembly plants and limiting supplies of goods such as nickel, potash, uranium, steel and aluminium. He urged his own citizens to forego travel to the US and to boycott US products.
