Washington [US], February 3: US President Donald Trump said the tariffs the US imposes on Canada, Mexico and China will be worth the price to protect US interests.
After weeks of warnings, President Trump signed an executive order on February 1 imposing a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, despite the US having free trade agreements with these two neighboring countries. He also imposed a 10% tariff on China.
All three countries are among the US's largest trading partners and have announced retaliatory measures as the US tariffs take effect on February 4.
"Will it be painful? Yes, maybe (and maybe not). But we will make America great again and it will be worth the cost," President Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social on February 2, according to AFP.
In his executive order, Mr. Trump said the tariffs would be lifted if the emergency on illegal immigration and the trafficking of fentanyl into the U.S. was ended. In a post on Truth Social, he added that the U.S. trade deficit with these countries was another reason.
"The United States has massive deficits with Canada, Mexico, and China (and virtually everyone else), $36 trillion in debt, and we will not be a stupid country anymore," Trump wrote.
Analysts predict that the trade war will slow US growth and push up US commodity prices, at least in the short term, something Mr Trump has been vocal about during his campaign. In an effort to curb rising gas prices, President Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on energy imports from Canada.
Investors are bracing for a stock market crash in early trading on Monday due to the trade conflict between the US and its partners, according to The Guardian . Trading on the weekend market of UK brokerage IG shows that stock prices are likely to fall on February 3.
Technology stocks are expected to be hit hard, with the US Nasdaq on track to open down 1.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is likely to fall 0.8% and the UK FTSE 100 is on track to fall 0.7% despite hitting a record high at the close of trading last weekend.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
