In the beginning of February, President Donald Trump announced a series of tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China. He claimed that these tariffs would “protect Americans,” urging all three countries to do more to stop illegal fentanyl from being manufactured and exported, and for Canada and Mexico to reduce illegal immigration to the U.S., according to the Associated Press.
Both Canada and Mexico then proposed retaliatory tariffs on select U.S. goods, and the Chinese government said they would “take necessary countermeasures” to these actions, AP News reported.
Source: AP News, Evan Vucci
Since then, the U.S. tariffs have been postponed twice, most recently on Thursday, March 6. According to AP News, this decision delayed 25% tariffs for another month on many imports from Canada and Mexico, likely due to fears of a trade war.
Canada plans to keep their initial retaliatory tariffs in place unless Trump rescinds all of his proposed tariffs.
“Whether you like him or not, President Trump has built a reputation for himself in both business and politics as a great negotiator and he has shown his willingness to play tough with other countries,” said sophomore Matthew Meaney.
“While no one really wants to get into a trade war, I think Trump has the advantage over [Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau in particular based on their respective approval ratings and the fact that Canada’s general election is coming much quicker than the U.S. midterms,” Meaney continued. “Trump has much more room to make adjustments if need be than Trudeau does.”
Lauren Kehrle contributed to this article.
