President Donald Trump on Tuesday pledged to impose tariffs on the European Union and said his administration is discussing imposing punitive 10% tariffs on Chinese imports because fentanyl is sent from China to the United States via Mexico and Canada.
Trump made his latest threats regarding tariffs in statements to reporters at the White House a day after taking office, without immediately imposing tariffs as he promised during his election campaign.
Financial markets and trade groups briefly breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday, but his latest comments highlighted Trump's long-standing desire for broader tariffs and a new February 1 deadline to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, in addition to tariffs on China and the European Union.
Trump said that the European Union and other countries have worrying trade surpluses with the United States.
“The EU is very bad for us,” he said, repeating comments he made on Monday.
“So they'll be up against tariffs. It's the only way…you'll get justice.”
Trump said Monday he was considering imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico unless they crack down on the smuggling of illegal immigrants and fentanyl, including the precursor chemicals from China, across their US border.
Trump had previously threatened to impose 10% tariffs on Chinese imports over trade, but has realigned that with a February 1 deadline.
China said it is willing to maintain contacts with the United States to “appropriately address differences and expand mutually beneficial cooperation.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it seeks to strengthen stable and sustainable relations with the United States.
“We always believe that there is no winner in the trade war or tariff war. China will always firmly protect its national interests,” ministry spokesman Mao Ning told reporters at a regular press conference on Wednesday.
President Trump wasted no time in signing a slew of executive orders on day one, including those that:
- Department of Justice directs that TikTok “withdraw or ban” law not be enforced for 75 days
- Stopping 78 executive actions under Biden
- Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement
- End all federal cases and investigations into any Trump supporters
- Eliminate protections for transgender troops
- Pardons about 1,500 people criminally charged in January 6 attack, commuting sentences for six people
- Reform the refugee admissions program to better align with American principles and interests
- Declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border
- Designating the Tren de Aragua drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations
- Rescinds several immigration orders issued by the Biden administration, including one that narrows deportation priorities for people who commit serious crimes, are considered a threat to national security or are stopped at the border.
- Repeal a policy established by the Biden administration that sought to guide the development of artificial intelligence to prevent misuse
- Repeal a Biden-era policy that allowed federal agencies to take certain initiatives to boost voter registration
- Repeal the Title IX order of 2021, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation in educational programs that receive federal funding.
- Revoking Biden's recent decision to remove Cuba from the US list of states sponsoring terrorism
- Ask federal employees to return to work at their desks five days a week
- Orders a freeze on federal hiring, including exceptions for positions related to national security, public safety, and the military
- Directing every government department and agency to address the high-cost of living crisis
- Restoring freedom of expression and preventing censorship of freedom of expression
- Ending “the arming of the government against the political opponents of the previous administration”
- Imposing a 25% tariff on products coming from Mexico and Canada as of February 1
- Cancel Biden's sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank
- Reversing Biden's order that 50% of new cars sold in 2030 be electric cars
- He declared that there are two biological sexes: male and female
- End diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within federal agencies
- Establishment of the Government Efficiency Department
- Establish enhanced screening for visa applicants from certain high-risk countries
- Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge reopens for oil and gas drilling
- He ordered the Attorney General, Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to “take all appropriate measures to prioritize” the prosecution of illegal aliens who commit crimes.
- Withdrawing the United States from the global minimum tax agreement
- Imposing a 90-day moratorium on the issuance of US foreign aid
- He ordered the Attorney General to pursue the death penalty for the murder of a law enforcement officer or any capital crime committed by an illegal immigrant
- He ordered the Commerce and Interior secretaries to resume efforts to direct water from California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state.
- Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization
- Ordered the Treasury Department to explore the possibility of establishing a Foreign Revenue Service
- Revoking the security clearances of former National Security Advisor John Bolton and 51 intelligence officials who said Hunter Biden's laptop bore “classic signs” of Russian disinformation.
- Declaring the border crisis an “invasion” and ordering the attorney general and the secretaries of State and Homeland Security “to take all appropriate actions to repel, return, or remove any alien involved” in such a matter.
- Officially renaming the Gulf of Mexico to “America's Gulf” and Alaska's Mount Denali to “Mt. McKinley”
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told CNBC early Tuesday that Trump's threat to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico was to pressure the two countries to prevent illegal immigrants and illicit drugs from entering the United States.
“The reason he would consider using 25, 25, 10 (percent), or whatever it is, in Canada, Mexico and China, is because 300 Americans die every day” from fentanyl overdoses, Navarro said.
Trump on Monday announced a sweeping crackdown on immigration, including a sweeping ban on asylum.
Reports April 1
Trump on Monday signed a wide-ranging trade memorandum ordering federal agencies to complete comprehensive reviews of a range of trade issues by April 1.
These analyzes include the United States' persistent trade deficit, unfair trade practices, and currency manipulation among partner nations, including China.
Trump's memo asked for recommendations on remedies, including a “global supplemental tariff,” and changes to the $800 minimum tariff exemption for low-value shipments often blamed for illicit imports of the precursor chemical fentanyl.
The reviews were ordered to allow some breathing room to resolve reported disagreements between Trump's cabinet nominees over how to handle his promises to impose global tariffs and duties on Chinese goods of up to 60%.
Trump's more nuanced approach to tariffs sent US stocks higher, pushing the benchmark S&P 500 index to its highest level in a month, although Trump's new attacks on China and the European Union may dampen that momentum.
William Rensch, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said it was likely that Trump “decided to move a little slower and make sure he had as strong a legal basis as he could get for this type of action.”
“He's figuring out how to best use his influence to get what he wants.”
Softer tones
Mexico and Canada took a conciliatory tone in response to Trump's February 1 deadline.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that she would affirm Mexico's sovereignty and independence and respond to American actions “step by step.”
But she added that the US-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement would not be renegotiable until 2026, a comment intended to pre-empt suggestions that Trump would seek an early renewal of the agreement that supports more than $1.8 trillion in annual trilateral investments. commerce.
Corn farmers are concerned about U.S. tariffs and retaliatory duties disrupting trade with Mexico, the largest corn export customer, and with Canada, the largest export customer for ethanol derived from U.S. corn.
“We understand he's a negotiator-type person,” Kenny Hartman Jr., an Illinois farmer and chairman of the National Corn Growers Association, said of Trump.
“We just hope we can come out of this where we don't lose exports — we don't lose that corn that goes to Mexico or that ethanol that goes to Canada.”
