Canada and Mexico Retaliate to Trump Tariffs
- Alexangel Ventura
- Feb 2
- 2 min read
Canada and Mexico made remarkably quick responses to Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on them both, causing a trade war to have its beginnings.
On Saturday afternoon, the President of the United States signed his largest tariff rates on our North American neighbors in his political career, passing a 25% rate on all imports from both countries.
These tariffs could be very lethal for each of their respective economies; being some of America's largest trading partners, they could lose out in billions in trade revenue and even operate more of a trade loss with the import giant that is the United States.
The value of the USD and gold skyrocketed over the past week, while the Canadian Dollar and the Mexican Peso both fell in value.
However, these weren't the main reasons for enacting such a large tariff. Rather, it's the accumulation of factors which have been influenced by Americans' grievances. Some of the greatest of these factors include the illegal fentanyl trade into America from its borders, and the massive trade deficit which America operates on a daily basis, leading to the outflowing of capital and jobs from the nation.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the first to kickstart retaliatory efforts against the Trump tariffs. In fact, they implemented a 25% tariff on American goods, possibly worth billions in export value. "I think Canadians are a little perplexed as to why our closest friends and neighbors are choosing to target us," Trudeau stated at a press conference Saturday.
Trudeau is also expected to cooperate and talk to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum next week. Sheinbaum herself, who has targeted the fentanyl trade so far into her presidency, has directed her economic agencies to enact tariffs on the United States which, although may not be as tall as Canada's, may still prove to be a substantial response.
It is yet unclear how China will react to the Trump tariffs. Trump increased the U.S. tariff rate on China by 10% alongside his Canadian-Mexican tariff bill on Saturday.
President Trump remained confident that his tariffs, inevitably, will prove to be an effective tool for the United States both economically and diplomatically. When asked about the possibility of an effective retaliatory effort by the two nations, Trump imply responded, "No."
