The White House denied trying to start a trade war by imposing duties
The tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Mexico, Canada and China are aimed at fighting fentanyl, not at launching a trade war. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said this on CNBC on February 3.
"Go back and reread President Trump's executive order. It's 100 percent clear there that this is not a trade war - it's a war on drugs. About 100,000 people died last year because of fentanyl that came from Mexico and Canada," Hassett said.
He said Canada misunderstood the wording in Trump's executive order, interpreting it as the start of a trade war. At the same time, he noted Mexico's seriousness about the tariff order. According to Hassett, the country has declared its readiness to toughen the fight against drug trafficking across the border.
The economist added that Mexico, Canada and China must stop the flow of people and fentanyl to the U.S. territory, as well as balance their trade in order to cancel the duties.
On the same day, European diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas said that the European Union (EU) is preparing for a possible trade war with the US. According to her, in case of a trade war, "the only one who will be laughing" will be China.
On February 1, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing trade tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada, China and Mexico. At the same time, he promised to impose duties on goods from the EU. With this decision, Trump seeks to reduce the flow of the opioid fentanyl across the border, as well as the flow of migrants.
Chinese economist Andrew Leung, in turn, told Izvestia that the tariffs that Trump imposes on imports of goods from China and Mexico will lead to an increase in consumer prices in the United States itself.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
