President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico have caused panic and condemnation from the best American commercial partners, who said that the views would devastate the North America economy and destroy the 80-year-old pact.
Politicians, business leaders and trade associations in all three countries responded with disbelief, a warning Tariffs They would bring inflation, a disorder of supply chain and widespread job losses.
On Saturday afternoon, Donald Trump signed an executive order that imposed 25 percent of tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, which starts on Tuesday and 10 percent of energy tariffs. He also imposed an additional 10 percent of tariffs to the goods from China.
Trump said that the levy would be put on goods from Canada and Mexico to “consider them responsible” for the promises to stop the illegal drugs of drugs and migration in the US.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the tariffs on US goods in retaliation, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was expected to do the same later on Saturday.
New trade obstacles would slow down growth and accelerate inflation in all three countries in the next few years, with the largest shocks for Mexico and Canada, economists at the Institute for International Economics of Peterson.
They will also increase the decades of deepening integration in North America. Mexico and Canada send more than three quarters of their exports to the United States, supported by a three -way trade agreement, USMac, signed during Trump’s last presidency.
“Tariffs will drastically increase the costs of everything for everyone: every day these tariffs are at the scene of families, communities and companies,” said Candace Laing, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
It will hit US companies with business throughout the region. The US Chamber of Commerce said the tariffs would disrupt the supply chain.
Trump focused his anger for a long time on the American southern border with Mexico, but in an executive order he made it clear that he sees Canada as part of the problem.
“Criminal networks are involved in human trafficking operations and smuggling, which allows uninformed illegal migration through our northern border,” the executive order said.
Xavi Delgado of the Canadian Institute at Wason Center in Washington said that the US never told Canada which actions must take on the northern border.
“The president can only carry out tariffs via ieep [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] In response to a “unusual and extraordinary threat.” Even if the White House believes that its trade deficit with Canada is dishonest, it does not represent an extraordinary threat; The crisis on the northern border, as they describe it, would, “he said.
The leaders in the private sector of Mexico said there was panic and a deep nervousness after Trump’s announcement. Many hoped that the country would benefit from another Trump’s expression, with few believe that they would follow their threats.
Pedro Casas Alatrista, director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, said the tariffs were step back for the links built for decades.
“Companies and consumers of three economies will suffer the consequences if that measure is not reverse; [it means a] Cost growth for manufacturers and exporters, job loss, inflation and less purchasing powers for our families, “he said.
The Mexican economy is already slowing down and it is expected that it will fall into a recession if the tariffs are imposed on a considerable period. Tiff Mackklem, Governor of Canada Bank, said the US tariffs are likely to put Canada in the recession.
“The only winners from the imposition of tariff against Mexico and Canada by the United States are the main competitors of North America,” said Kenneth Smith, a Mexican former trade negotiator, adding that she had harmed US credibility as a commercial partner.
The Mexicans were shocked by the language used in the fact of the White House on tariffs, accusing the Sheinbaum government directly to have a “unbearable alliance” with drug cartels in the country. It was not clear what Mexico could do to remove the tariffs.
Since Trump has been elected and started threat of tariffs in November, Canadian and Mexican delegations are trying to convince the president that he will also harm such an American economy.
Some of Trump’s colleagues of Republicans also caused concern about the presidential tariff announcement, pointing out that Canada was their main trade partner.
John Llewelyn, a partner in an independent economy, counseling and former economist in OECD, said the main consequence of the tariff will be inflation, and all countries are likely to be injured, including the US.
“The 80-year period of stability in the rules and the implementation of economic and financial relations between countries has ended today,” he said.
