The White House stated on Monday that Mexico is “serious” about President Donald Trump’s executive order on tariffs, while Canada has “misunderstood” it as a trade war between the two neighbouring countries.
On Saturday, Trump announced sweeping tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China, demanding they take action to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the US, triggering a trade war that could impact global growth and increase inflation.
Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, told CNBC,
“The good news is that in our conversations over the weekend, one of the things we’ve noticed is that Mexicans are very, very serious about doing what President Trump said.” He added, “Canadians appear to have misunderstood the plain language of the executive order and they’re interpreting it as a trade war.”
When asked what Canada and Mexico must do to lift the 25% tariffs announced on Saturday, Trump told reporters on Sunday that they
“have to balance out their trade, number one.” He continued, “They’ve got to stop people from pouring into our country… they have to stop people pouring in, and we have to stop fentanyl. And that includes China,” he added, referring to the additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
While acknowledging that the tariffs against the US’s three largest trading partners might cause some short-term pain for Americans, Trump stated,
“Long term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world.”
Trump also hinted on Sunday that the European Union could be next in line for tariffs, but did not specify when.
Asked about the potential inflationary effects of Trump’s policies, Hassett said,
“I think this is going to be one of the biggest supply-side positive shocks that we’ve ever seen.” He noted that Trump would ultimately decide “what he’s going to call off and what he’s not” regarding tariffs.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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