Of course he’s TREATENING sauch action to ‘soften’ up the two countries that sit on America’s borders….
The American ‘KING” wants Canada and Mexico to ‘bow’ to America ….
You can add China to this also….
If NOT?
It WILL get Messy for ALL involved…….
And for You and Me…..
Oh?
And how about a Government Shutdown to top things off?
Donald Trump continues embrace ‘Chaos’ as his mode of action….
His need for attention and ego on full display….
The president describes this as an effort to pressure those countries to stop the flow of deadly drugs and migrants to the United States. But Mr. Trump’s game of brinkmanship with America’s three largest trading partners is creating intense uncertainty for business owners…
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The tariffs — which would add a 25 percent fee on all Mexican and Canadian exports coming across those borders and an additional 10 percent for Chinese goods — could still be pushed off.
Mr. Trump had threatened to impose them on the three countries beginning Feb. 4 but decided to pause the levies on Canada and Mexico for one month after the countries promised measures like Mexico’s sending more troops to the border and Canada’s appointing a “fentanyl czar.”
Mr. Trump did move forward with imposing a 10 percent tariff on all products from China, which triggered retaliation from that country. He is now threatening another 10 percent on all Chinese imports, which would come on top of the 10 to 25 percent tariffs he imposed on many Chinese products in his first term.
Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, said in an interview on Fox News on Sunday that Canada and Mexico had “done a lot” to meet the president’s demands and that the situation was “fluid.” Still, Mr. Lutnick implied that at least some levies would go forward, though he intimated they could be lower than the 25 percent Mr. Trump has promised…
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Canada and Mexico are both deeply dependent on exports to the United States, and Mr. Trump’s threats have whipped their governments into action. Delegations of officials have made trips to Washington in recent weeks, including to meet with Mr. Lutnick.
In contrast, Chinese officials have not rushed to Washington with new concessions. People familiar with the discussions say that Beijing is still probing what Mr. Trump wants more broadly from the relationship….
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For Canada and Mexico, most trade with the United States has faced zero tariff rates since the 1980s, he said, with free trade agreements for automobiles even dating back to the 1960s.
“Increasing tariffs from zero to 25 percent overnight is likely to be much more disruptive to those now highly integrated North American supply chains than anything President Trump did in his first term,” Mr. Bown said….
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U.S. companies that source energy from around North America had a reprieve last month when Mr. Trump lowered the planned tariff on energy imported from Canada to 10 percent, from 25 percent. But the levy will be disruptive nevertheless, particularly for companies that transform oil into fuels like gasoline and diesel. That’s because U.S. refineries were built to run on a mix of the darker, heavier oil found in Canada — and the lighter crude produced domestically.
Refineries in the Midwest are particularly dependent on Canadian oil and, if the tariff takes effect, will have to choose between paying more for oil and cutting production. Analysts generally expect Canadian oil producers and U.S. refiners will share the additional cost burden. Prices at the pump also could rise modestly.
Oil and gas companies are also beginning to feel the effects of the 25 percent tariff on imported steel that Mr. Trump announced last month, even though it will not go into effect until March 12. Prices for products like the steel pipe that companies use to line their wells are already climbing in anticipation of the tariff…..
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