Trump imposes duties against Canada, Mexico and China. What the media say
US President Donald Trump has signed decrees imposing duties on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and the United States. The tariffs will begin to take effect on February 4. All three countries, which are leading trading partners of the US, intend to respond to Trump's actions by also raising tariffs. What the world media write about the consequences for the American economy - in the Izvestia digest.
Reuters: Trump said about the short-term harm of tariffs for Americans
Trump said that the duties he imposed on Mexico, Canada and China could cause "short-term" harm to Americans. Amid the decision, global stock markets plummeted on fears that the duties would trigger an economy-destroying trade war.
Reuters
The duties on Canada, Mexico and China, outlined in three decrees, are due to take effect at 08:01 Moscow time on February 4. Economists said the Republican president's plan to impose 25 percent duties on Canada and Mexico and 10 percent duties on China - three of the U.S.'s biggest trading partners - would slow global economic growth and raise prices for Americans.
Trump argues the tariffs are necessary to curb immigration and drug trafficking and to boost domestic industry. He said the United States "has been robbed by virtually every country in the world." Polls show Americans are divided on the issue of tariffs: 54% oppose imposing new duties on imported goods and 43% support, with Democrats opposed and Republicans in favor.
Bloomberg: Trump allowed the introduction of tariffs against the European Union
Trump stepped up his threats to impose duties on the European Union. He said that tariffs "will definitely be imposed," citing the large trade deficit with the bloc. Amid these statements, the euro fell and the dollar strengthened.
Bloomberg
"They're not taking our cars, they're not taking our agricultural products," Trump said of the EU. - They're taking almost nothing, and we're taking everything: millions of cars, huge amounts of food and agricultural products."
Trump noted that the U.S. relationship with Britain is "out of bounds," but allowed the possibility of a settlement with it on tariffs. He also intends to call the leaders of Canada and Mexico, who have promised to retaliate after the duties were imposed.
The New York Times: what Canada, Mexico and China import to the US
Mexico, China and Canada together account for more than a third of the products imported into the United States, amounting to more than $1 trillion a year. Canada and Mexico have been among the U.S.'s closest trading partners since the 1990s, when the North American Free Trade Agreement brought the three economies together. The agreement eliminated most tariffs on goods traded between the countries and established processes to remove regulatory barriers.
The New York Times
In 2023, for the first time, the United States imported more products from Mexico than from any other country, a shift that underscores how growing tensions between Washington and Beijing have reshaped global economic conditions. Days before the duties took effect, Canada and Mexico vowed to respond to Trump's actions with their own duties on imports from the U.S., a repeat of the trade war that began under the first Trump administration.
The goods, more than half of which Canada, the U.S. and Mexico supply to the U.S., include crude oil, computers, telephones, auto parts, trucks, electric batteries, wires, video displays, toys, tractors, air conditioners, refrigerators and gold. The number of categories of goods whose imports exceed $1 billion reaches 152.
Financial Times: Canada has warned the US of its dependence on Venezuelan oil because of tariffs
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the US would be forced to buy oil from geopolitical rivals such as Venezuela if they disrupted trade with Canada. She said Donald Trump's threat to impose 25 percent duties on Canadian imports would hit "real people" if relations between the two countries escalated into a trade war.
Financial Times
Despite the rapid growth of shale oil production in states such as Texas, Canada accounts for about one in five barrels of oil consumed in the US and about 60 percent of imported crude. Many U.S. refineries depend on heavy crude produced in Canada or Venezuela rather than the lighter grades produced by America's rich shale oil industry.
Canadian Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson promised to impose symmetrical duties on U.S. goods such as steel and orange juice if Trump carried out his threats. In the end, Trump imposed only 10 percent tariffs on Canadian oil.
The Wall Street Journal: China is preparing for trade talks with Trump
China is preparing a starting bid for talks with Trump to try to prevent further U.S. duty hikes and technology restrictions. This is a sign that Beijing is eager to start trade talks.
The Wall Street Journal
According to people in both capitals familiar with Beijing's mindset - which is largely focused on going back to a previous trade deal that didn't work - what it is willing to offer is likely to intensify the debate in Washington about how to negotiate with China.
It is noted that neither side is yet ready to launch a full-blown trade war. The US has justified imposing 10 percent duties on Chinese goods on the grounds that the PRC is not imposing tough measures on chemicals used to produce fentanyl.
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