WASHINGTON (Michigan News Source) – President Donald Trump announced late Thursday he has postponed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for almost a month. The action comes among media reports of fears of a border war was beginning between the countries.
The executive order.
Trump signed the executive order March 6 and said the tariffs would be delayed until April 2 under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
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Canada had announced March 4 that it was responding to the U.S. tariff with a 25% tariff on Canadian exports and a 10% tariff on energy products.
On Feb. 1, the White House announced it was imposing a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on China. Energy resources from Canada would have a lower 10% tariff.
“President Trump is taking bold action to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country,” the White House said in the Feb. 1 statement.
The White House continued: ” … the Mexican drug trafficking organizations have an intolerable alliance with the government of Mexico. The government of Mexico has afforded safe havens for the cartels to engage in the manufacturing and transportation of dangerous narcotics, which collectively have led to the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims. This alliance endangers the national security of the United States, and we must eradicate the influence of these dangerous cartels. There is also a growing presence of Mexican cartels operating fentanyl and nitazene synthesis labs in Canada. A recent study recognized Canada’s heightened domestic production of fentanyl, and its growing footprint within international narcotics distribution.”
The impact on Michigan.
The Wall Street Journal and Trump had gone back-and-forth over the impacts the tariffs would have on Michigan.
On Feb. 25, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed with the headline, “Trump’s Tariffs Will Punish Michigan”. The editorial stated that Michigan’s auto plants rely on parts that come from Canada and Mexico. The Wall Street Journal cited a study that said the tariffs would increase the cost of a full-sized SUV made in the U.S. by $9,000 and boost the price of a pickup truck by $8,000.
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Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social on Feb. 26 that his tariffs wouldn’t hurt Michigan.
“I don’t understand The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, never have. … But then they come out with some real CLINKERS, like today’s Editorial that my Auto Tariffs will hurt the Michigan Automobile Business. They are sooo WRONG, in fact, it is just the opposite,” the post stated. “The tariffs will drive massive amounts of auto manufacturing to MICHIGAN, a State which I just easily [won] in the Presidential Election. They have already stopped numerous new auto plants from being built in other countries, a GIGANTIC WIN (already!) FOR MICHIGAN, and the United States as a whole. Just let it all happen, and watch, it won’t be even close! AMERICAN industry will thrive, and we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”