Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum and China's foreign ministry were quick to respond to US President Donald Trump's tariffs, with upcoming tit-for-tat moves likely to impact global supply chains significantly.
Trudeau said Canada will impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian $155 billion in US imports, adding that the first round of tariffs would target Canadian $30 billion worth of US goods on Tuesday followed by the rest in three weeks. The tariffs will apply to "everyday items" such as American beer, wine and bourbon as well as fruits, vegetables, consumer appliances, lumber and plastics, he added -- "with much, much more." "We're certainly not looking to escalate. But we will stand up for Canada, for Canadians, for Canadian jobs," Trudeau said.
Trudeau said Canada has been at the US's side in its "darkest hours" from the Iran hostage crisis and war in Afghanistan, to deadly natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the recent California wildfires. "If President Trump wants to usher in a new golden age for the United States, the better path is to partner with Canada, not to punish us," he said.
China too vowed "corresponding countermeasures" against the new tariffs and file a claim against Washington at the World Trade Organization. "There are no winners in a trade war or tariff war," China's foreign ministry said, adding that the additional duties would "inevitably affect and damage future bilateral cooperation on drug control".
Beijing urged "the US to correct its erroneous practices, meet China halfway, face up to its problems, have frank dialogues, strengthen cooperation and manage differences on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect".
Sheinbaum, meanwhile, said she had told her economy minister "to implement Plan B that we have been working on, which includes tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico's interests". She also hit back at Washington's accusation that her government has an "intolerable alliance" with drug trafficking groups. "We categorically reject the slander made by the White House against the Mexican government about alliances with criminal organisations," Sheinbaum wrote on social media platform X.
Trump has signed an executive order imposing 25 per cent tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico starting on Tuesday except Canadian energy products, which will be subject to a 10 per cent duty. Citing a "major threat" from illegal immigration and drugs, he also imposed an additional 10 per cent tariff on good from China, which already face various duties.
Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in imposing the tariffs, with the White House saying "the extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency". The aim is to hold all three countries "accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country," the White House added.
He has also pledged to impose duties on the European Union in the future. He has also promised tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, as well as oil and gas. "Tariffs are a powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest," the White House said.
US imports from Canada and Mexico covered nearly $900 billion in goods as of 2023, and supply lines between the three North American neighbors -- who share a trade agreement -- are deeply integrated. Mexico and Canada also account for significant US agriculture imports, meaning the duties could add to prices of popular foods like avocados and tomatoes. Nearly 80 percent of Canadian goods exports go to the United States, amounting to some $410 billion in value, according to Statistics Canada.
Mexico's exports to the United States represented 84 percent of the goods it sold to the world last year, according to its National Institute of Statistics, amounting to over $510 billion. More than 80 percent of US avocados come from Mexico -- meaning higher import costs could push up prices of items like guacamole.
