Beijing on Tuesday has told Donald Trump that “nobody will win in a trade war” after the president-elect vowed to sign an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all products coming in to the United States from Mexico and Canada, with additional tariffs on China.
Trump accused China of failing to stop the number of drugs entering the US. China is a major producer of precursor chemicals that are acquired by drug cartels, including in Mexico, to manufacture fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail...Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America.”
Liu Pengyu, a Chinese embassy spokesperson, said China had taken steps to combat drug trafficking after an agreement was reached last year between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.
“The Chinese side has notified the US side of the progress made in US-related law enforcement operations against narcotics,” he said in a statement. “All these prove that the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality.”
Trump also posted: “On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders.” He cited what he called the “long simmering problem” of “thousands of people pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before”.
Canada’s deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, released a statement on Monday evening saying that the country places the highest priority on border security and the integrity of its shared border with the US. Trump and the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, spoke on Monday night about trade and border security, Reuters reported, citing a Canadian source directly familiar with the situation.
Arturo Sarukhan, a former Mexican diplomat, said the decision would violate the revised free trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico, known as the USMCA, and said the new tariffs would “put North American relations in a downward spiral”.
Mexico’s finance ministry said: “Mexico is the United States’ top trade partner, and the USMCA provides a framework of certainty for national and international investors.”
A tariff is a tax placed on goods when they cross national borders. Import tariffs such as those proposed by Trump can have the effect of protecting domestic industries from foreign competition while also generating tax revenue for the government. But economists widely consider them an inefficient tool that typically leave consumers and taxpayers bearing the brunt of higher costs.
Countries generally levy retaliatory tariffs of their own in response to tariffs such as those Trump is proposing, which can spark a trade war – as happened between the US and China during Trump’s first presidency.
Source: The Guardian
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
