Trade War

On March 4, 2025 President Donald Trump launched a trade war with Canada, China, and Mexico. The tariffs that were made are a 25% tax, or tariff, on Mexican and Canadian imports, though he limited the levy to 10% on Canadian energy. Trump also doubled the tariff from last month on Chinese products to 20%.

In an address to Congress Tuesday night, Trump repeated two different explanations for his tariffs on Canada and Mexico. He cited the trade deficits the U.S. has with both countries, but also said, “they’ve allowed fentanyl to come into our country at levels never seen before, killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens.”

Trump also acknowledged there could be “a little disturbance” from the tariffs, a possible nod to the stock market’s sharp falls in the past two days as well as concerns about inflation. He also cited, “It may be a little bit of an adjustment period,” he said after claiming that farmers would benefit from reciprocal tariffs on countries that have tariffs on U.S. exports. “You have to bear with me again and this will be even better.”

“Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator. Make that make sense,” Trudeau (Prime Minister of Canada) said.

China indicated on Tuesday night that it would not back down. “If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.” China’s embassy stated. The countries are starting to respond back which is why this is starting to become a trade war.

Resources

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/economics/trump-puts-tariffs-thousands-goods-canada-mexico-risking-higher-prices-rcna194542

https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-643086a6dc7ff716d876b3c83e3255b0