Trump plans tariffs on Mexico, Canada for Tuesday, while doubling existing 10 pc tariffs on China
Washington, Feb 28 (AP): President Donald Trump plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday, in addition to doubling the 10 per cent universal tariff charged on imports from China.
In a Truth Social post Thursday, Trump said illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at “unacceptable levels" and that import taxes would force other countries to crack down on the trafficking.
“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” the Republican president wrote. “China will likewise be charged an additional 10 per cent Tariff on that date.”
The prospect of escalating tariffs has already thrown the global economy into turmoil, with consumers expressing fears about inflation worsening and the auto sector possibly suffering if America's two largest trading partners in Canada and Mexico are hit with taxes.
But Trump has also at times engaged in aggressive posturing only to give last-minute reprieves, previously agreeing to a 30-day suspension of the Canada and Mexico tariffs that were initially supposed to start in February.
Trump intends to put 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10 per cent tax on Canadian energy products such as oil and electricity. The move, ostensibly about drug trafficking and immigration, led Mexico and Canada to respond by emphasizing their existing efforts to address these issues. Canada created a fentanyl czar, and Mexico sent 10,000 members of its National Guard to its border with the United States.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that she hoped to speak with Trump after the Cabinet-level meetings occurring in Washington this week. Mexico's Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente was scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday afternoon.
Trump, “as you know, has his way of communicating,” Sheinbaum said. But she said that her government would stay “cool-headed” and optimistic about an agreement coming together to avoid the tariffs.
“I hope we are able to reach an agreement and on March 4 we can announce something else,” she said.
She said Mexico's security chiefs were discussing intelligence sharing with their American counterparts that would allow for important arrests in the US.
On the economic front, she said Mexico's goal is to protect the free trade pact that was negotiated during the first Trump administration between Mexico and the United States. That 2020 deal, which included Canada, was an update of the North American Free Trade Agreement from 1994.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country has invested more than 1 billion Canadian dollars to improve border security, adding that his government's ministers and officials are also in Washington this week.
“There is no emergency for the United States at the border with Canada when it comes to fentanyl, and that is exactly what we are demonstrating at this time,” Trudeau said in Montreal.
“If the United States goes ahead and imposes tariffs, we already shared the details of our plan. We have USD 30 billion worth of US products that will be subject to tariffs. And USD 125 billion of tariffs that will be applied three weeks later. But we don't want to be in that position.”
Trump did impose a 10 per cent tariff on China for its role in the manufacturing of chemicals used to make fentanyl, and that tax would now be doubled, according to his social media post.
On Thursday, China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao wrote to Jamieson Greer, the newly confirmed US trade representative, that differences on trade should be resolved through dialogues and negotiations.
The 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada would amount to a total tax increase on the US public of somewhere between USD 120 billion to USD 225 billion annually, according to Jacob Jensen, a trade policy analyst at the American Action Forum, a centre-right think tank. The additional China tariffs could cost consumers up to USD 25 billion.
The potential for higher prices and slower growth could create political blowback for Trump, who promised voters in last year's presidential election that he could quickly lower the inflation rate, which jumped during Democratic President Joe Biden's term.
But Trump also campaigned on imposing broad tariffs, which he plans to launch on April 2 by resetting them to match the taxes that he determines are charged by other countries on American goods.
“The April Second Reciprocal Tariff date will remain in full force and effect,” Trump said as part of his new social media post.
In an interview with News Nation, Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said progress by Mexico and Canada on fentanyl “was not as impressive as the president had hoped.”
There are significant differences between Canada and Mexico on the scale of drug smuggling. US customs agents seized 43 pounds (19.5 kilograms) of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last budget year, compared with 21,100 pounds (9,570 kilograms) at the Mexican border.
Hassett stressed that the reciprocal tariffs would be in addition to the ones being placed on Canada and Mexico.
Trump indicated Wednesday that European countries would also face a 25 per cent tariff as part of his reciprocal tariffs. He also wants separate tariffs on autos, computer chips and pharmaceutical drugs that would be levied in addition to the reciprocal tariffs.
The president already announced that he's removing the exemptions on his 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs, in addition to planning taxes on copper imports.
The prospect of a broader trade conflict should other nations follow through with their own retaliatory tariffs is already spooking US consumers, potentially undermining Trump's promise to unleash stronger economic growth.
The Conference Board reported on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index had dropped 7 points to a reading of 98.3. It was the largest monthly decline since August 2021, when inflationary pressures began to reverberate across the United States as the economy recovered from the coronavirus pandemic. Average 12-month inflation expectations jumped from 5.2 per cent to 6 per cent in February, the Conference Board noted.
“There was a sharp increase in the mentions of trade and tariffs, back to a level unseen since 2019,” said Stephanie Guichard, a senior economist at the Conference Board. "Most notably, comments on the current administration and its policies dominated the responses.”
The S&P 500 stock index has also fallen over the past month, reversing some of the gains that followed Trump's November presidential victory, which prompted investors to assume income tax cuts and less regulation would help increase growth.
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PM Modi to flag off Meerut Metro, Namo Bharat train on Feb 22
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will visit Meerut and flag off the Meerut Metro and Namo Bharat train at Shatabdi Nagar Namo Bharat station in the western Uttar Pradesh town.
From there, the prime minister will undertake a metro ride till Meerut South station and at around 1 pm, he will inaugurate and dedicate to the nation various development projects worth around Rs 12,930 crore in Meerut.
Modi will also address the gathering on the occasion, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.
The prime minister will dedicate to the nation the entire 82 Km Delhi–Meerut Namo Bharat corridor. He will inaugurate the remaining sections of India's first Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), which include the 5 km section between Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar in Delhi and the 21 km section between Meerut South and Modipuram in Uttar Pradesh.
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With a design speed of 180 km per hour, Namo Bharat is India's first regional rapid transit system. It will connect major urban centres such as Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Modinagar and Meerut with Delhi at a faster pace, the statement said.
The Sarai Kale Khan, the originating station of the corridor, is one of the four Namo Bharat stations to be commissioned with this inauguration.
It is strategically located as a major multi-modal hub, seamlessly connecting Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, Delhi Metro's pink line, Veer Haqeeqat Rai ISBT, and the ring road. The other three Namo Bharat stations, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul and Modipuram, being commissioned are in Meerut.
The prime minister will also inaugurate the Meerut Metro services between Meerut South and Modipuram, operating on the same infrastructure as Namo Bharat, in a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.
The Meerut Metro will be India's fastest metro system with a maximum operational speed of around 120 kmph. The metro will cover the entire stretch in just 30 minutes, with all scheduled stoppages en route.
This seamless integration of Namo Bharat and Meerut Metro on the same infrastructure will ensure high-speed intercity travel and swift intra-city movement, setting a benchmark for integrated urban and regional transit in India. It will decongest road traffic and consequently lead to a significant reduction in vehicular carbon dioxide emissions.
These projects will provide further impetus to the prime minister's vision of transforming urban mobility and ensuring seamless, efficient, modern and sustainable public transport systems that improve ease of living for citizens, the statement said.
