Politics Trump: High tariffs on goods from China, Mexico and Canada
On his first day in office, US President-elect Donald Trump wants to impose high import tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada as well as additional tariffs on goods from China.
This will be one of his first executive orders on January 20, Trump explained on the Truth Social platform, which he co-founded.
Tariffs of 25 percent are to apply to goods from Mexico and Canada. The US President-elect justified this with immigrants who bring crime and drugs across these two borders into the USA. Until this stops, the tariffs should remain in force. Both Canada and Mexico have the power to solve the problem. "We hereby call on them to use their power, and until they do, it's time for them to pay a very high price," Trump explained.
Additional tariffs of ten percent are to apply to goods from China. Trump also justified this with the fact that drugs such as the deadly fentanyl were entering the USA from the country. Although China has announced that it will take action against this, it has not done so. US President Joe Biden, who is still in office, met China's head of state Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (Apec) summit in the Peruvian capital Lima just over a week ago. Xi had assured Biden there that he also wanted to work with the future US administration under Trump
Trump campaigned for votes with tariff promises
Trump had already announced far-reaching tariffs during the election campaign. Tariffs are a kind of surcharge on imported goods. They are payable at the border when a company or consumer in the USA buys the product from abroad. Trump argues that his tariff policy will lead to US companies producing more in the USA again. This would create jobs. It is the classic "America First" policy that the Republican already pursued during his first term in office.
Democratic US President Biden also relied on protectionism. He not only largely retained Trump's China tariffs, but also imposed new tariffs - on electric cars, for example. While Biden focused relatively specifically on certain industries, the tariffs announced by Trump are more far-reaching.
Tariffs could fuel inflation
Many experts fear that this isolationist policy will lead to higher prices. This is because many goods from abroad cannot be produced in the USA overnight. Companies are therefore still dependent on imports from abroad for production - import duties then increase the cost of these goods. It is expected that companies will simply pass these costs on to consumers. In addition, countries affected by the tariffs are likely to respond with counter-tariffs - which in turn is bad news for US companies that export a lot.
Trade conflicts have shaped Trump's first term in office
Washington and Beijing have been embroiled in a trade conflict for years. Biden left tariffs against China in place, which Trump had introduced. In addition, the US imposed economic sanctions and export restrictions to make it more difficult for Beijing to access US technologies. Biden's government also introduced restrictions on US investments in China. In addition, Biden initiated large-scale investments at home to make America's supply chains more independent - especially from China. However, the two countries are closely intertwined economically.
Trump also imposed tariffs on certain products from Mexico and Canada, such as steel and aluminum, during his first term in office. He repeatedly clashed with the two countries over tariffs and imposed various conditions in order to avert punitive tariffs after all.
SDA
