
Published 03/02/2025 10:41 | Edited 03/02/2025 16:37
Canada and Mexico announced this Saturday (1st) retaliation for the tariffs imposed by the United States government. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed the imposition of 25% tariffs on US products, while Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said she prepares an answer.
The measures aggravate the escalation of the trade war started by President Donald Trump, which also applies rates on Chinese products.
The decree signed by Trump on Saturday (1st) establishes 25% rates for imports of Canada and Mexico and 10% for Chinese products. The justification of the White House includes national security arguments, claiming that the measures are necessary to contain illegal immigration and prevent fentanil from entering the US, a substance that has generated the opioid crisis in the country.
However, rates may have adverse impacts, raising the costs of products essential for US consumers.
The answers from Canada and Mexico came quickly. Trudeau has stated that US tariffs damage both Canadian and American workers, and that Canada will defend itself economically. Sheinbaum, in turn, denounced the measures as an attack on free trade and ensured that his government would adopt contracted.
The counterattack of Canada
The Canadian government did not wait long after the Republican signed the tariff decrees and announced a hard response on Saturday. Trudeau confirmed the imposition of 25% tariffs on a series of US products, including food, alcoholic beverages and industrial equipment.
“Tonight, I am announcing that Canada will respond to US commercial action with 25% tariffs against $ 155 billion in American products. This will include immediate $ 30 billion rates on Tuesday, followed by additional $ 125 billion rates on US products in 21 days to allow Canadian supply companies and chains to look for alternatives, ”said Trudeau.
Tariffs announced by Trudeau will have a wide range and will impact various sectors of the US economy. The Canadian government has structured retaliation aimed at reaching strategic segments and daily consumer products, in order to pressure the US to reconsider its protectionist measures.
“Like American tariffs, our answer will also be long range and will include everyday items such as American beer, wine and whiskey, fruits and fruit juices, including orange juice, along with vegetables, perfumes, clothes and shoes . It will include large consumer products such as appliances, furniture and sports equipment, and materials such as wood and plastic, along with much, much more, ”said the prime minister.
We will always stand up for Canada. pic.twitter.com/Eg9vkh4bS0
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 2, 2025
In addition to tariffs, the Canadian government also studies countermeasures that can make business relations even more difficult between the two countries. Trudeau indicated that his government analyzes restrictions on US access to Canada’s strategic resources such as essential minerals and energy, which can aggravate the commercial dispute.
“And as part of our answer, we are considering, with provinces and territories, several non -tariff measures, including some related to essential minerals, energy, purchases and other partnerships,” said Trudeau.
The Canadian Premier also encouraged its compatriots to prioritize the consumption of national products and to avoid travel to the United States. Trudeau stated that “it is time to choose Canada” and advised the citizen to “find their own way of defending Canada.”
“It can mean buying Canadian products and services instead of Americans. It may mean planning your next vacation here in Canada instead of traveling south of the border. It can mean supporting your neighbors, your local communities and businesses.
In the statement, Trudeau also addressed US citizens and warned of a possible climbing in inflation.
“Tonight, first, I want to talk directly to Americans, our closest friends and neighbors. This is a choice that will harm the Canadians, but besides, it will have real consequences for you, the American people, ”he said.
“Fees against Canada will put their jobs at risk, potentially closing US car assembly factories and other facilities. They will increase the costs for you [norteamericanos]including food in supermarkets and gasoline at the stations. They will prevent access to an affordable supply of vital and crucial goods for US security, such as nickel, potassium, uranium, steel and aluminum, ”said Trudeau, heading directly to the US population
Trump accuses Mexico of alliances with drug cartels and Sheinbaum react
The Government of Mexico also reacted promptly to the tariffs imposed by the United States, condemning the measure and denouncing its impacts on both countries. President Claudia Sheinbaum classifies tariffs as a direct attack on the Mexican economy and has ensured that her government will take steps to protect the country’s interests.
For her, commercial climbing harms both Mexican exporters and US consumers and companies. “It is not imposing rates that problems are solved, but talking and dialoguing,” he said, reiterating that the solution to commercial disputes should be found through dialogue.
In addition to public condemnation, Sheinbaum ordered his economy minister to put into practice a “plan B”; “Instruct the Secretary of Economics to implement plan B in which we are working, which includes tariff and non -tariff measures in defense of Mexico’s interests,” he published in X.
The justifications presented by Trump to impose the tariffs were countered directly by Sheinbaum. The US president claimed that Mexico does not do enough to contain fentanyl trafficking and that the Mexican government would have ties to organized crime.
Sheinbaum answered hard, challenging Washington to face his own drug problem. “If such an alliance exists somewhere, it is in US arms stores that they sell high-power weapons to these criminal groups, as the United States Department itself demonstrated in January this year,” he said, referring to US arms trafficking that supplies drug trafficking in Mexico.
We categorically reject the slander made by the White House to the Government of Mexico to have alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any interference intention in our territory.
If there is such an alliance somewhere in the armory of the United States …
– Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@claudiashein) February 2, 2025
The Mexican president also highlighted the country’s efforts to combat drugs, mentioning that the government seized more than 40 tons of narcotics in four months, including 20 million doses of fentanil, and arrested more than 10,000 people linked to drug trafficking.
“If the United States government and its agencies wanted to address the severe fentanil consumption in their country, they could, for example, combat the sale of narcotics on the streets of their main cities, which they do not, and money laundering that It is generated for this illegal activity, ”he criticized.
Despite his firm tone, Sheinbaum defended dialogue between countries and proposed that Trump set a direct negotiation channel to discuss safety and public health.
“Mexico doesn’t want to confront. We start from collaboration between neighboring countries […] Coordination yes; Subordination, not, ”he said, reinforcing that Mexico will not accept unilateral impositions, but is willing to cooperate equitably.
The Mexican response adds to the retaliation announced by Canada and China, expanding global resistance against the new protectionist offensive of the United States. Sheinbaum stressed that the US opioid crisis is an internal issue that needs to be resolved within its own country and should not justify aggressive trade measures. ]
“It is not imposing rates that problems are solved, but talking and dialoguing,” he concluded. For Sheinbaum, the Mexican response must be firm, but within the parameters of international trade. “When we negotiated with other nations, when we talk to other nations, we always make it up, never our heads down,” he said.
China rebuts rates and warns of global impact
China also manifested itself against the tariffs imposed by the US. The Chinese government has announced that it will contest measures in the World Trade Organization (WTO), claiming that Trump’s tariff policy hurts the principles of global trade.
International analysts warn that the new round of tariffs may further compromise global economic stability, leading to a cycle of retaliation and destabilizing productive chains.
Trump admits that commercial war can harm Americans
At a rare moment of recognition of the risks of his own policy, Trump admitted that trade war can have negative impacts on US consumers and companies. “There may be some pain,” said the president, suggesting that the price to be paid for tariffs will be justified by the alleged long -term benefits.
This statement generated concern between economists and business leaders, who warn of the possibility of increasing inflation and loss of jobs in the US industrial sector.
Source: vermelho.org.br