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Canada, Mexico, China respond to Trump tariff threats

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4 months ago

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Canada, Mexico, China respond to Trump tariff threats

Officials from Canada, Mexico and China have warned US President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to impose sweeping tariffs on America’s three largest trading partners could upend the economies of all four countries.

“To one tariff will follow another in response and so on, until we put our common businesses at risk,” Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said.

Trump vowed on Monday night to introduce 25% tariffs on goods coming from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% on goods coming from China. He said the duties were a bid to clamp down on drugs and illegal immigration.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he spoke to Trump in the hours after the announcement and planned to hold a meeting with Canada’s provincial leaders on Wednesday to discuss a response.

A spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington DC told the BBC: “No-one will win a trade war or a tariff war.”

The international pushback came a day after Trump announced his plans for his first day in office, on 20 January, in a post on his social media website, Truth Social.

Trudeau said his country was prepared to work with the US in “constructive ways”.

“This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on, and that’s what we’ll do,” Trudeau told reporters.

In a phone call with Trump, Trudeau said the pair discussed trade and border security, with the prime minister pointing out that the number of migrants crossing the Canadian border was much smaller compared with the US-Mexico border.

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Trump’s team declined to confirm the phone call.

But Trump spokesman Steven Cheung added that world leaders had sought to “develop stronger relationships” with Trump “because he represents global peace and stability”.

Mexico’s President Sheinbaum told reporters on Tuesday that neither threats nor tariffs would solve the “migration phenomenon” or drug consumption in the US.

Reading from a letter that she said she would send to Trump, Sheinbaum also warned that Mexico would retaliate by imposing its own taxes on US imports, which would “put common enterprises at risk”.

She said Mexico had taken steps to tackle illegal migration into the US and that “caravans of migrants no longer reach the border”.

The issue of drugs, she added, “is a problem of public health and consumption in your country’s society”.

Sheinbaum, who took office last month, noted that US car manufacturers produce some of their parts in Mexico and Canada.

“If tariffs go up, who will it hurt? General Motors,” she said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, told the BBC that “China-US economic and trade co-operation is mutually beneficial in nature”.

He denied that China allows chemicals used in the manufacture of illegal drugs – including fentanyl – to be smuggled to the US.

“China has responded to US request for verifying clues on certain cases and taken action,” Liu said.

“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.”

President Joe Biden has left in place the tariffs on China that Trump introduced in his first term, and added a few more of his own.

Currently, a majority of what the two countries sell to each other is subject to tariffs – 66.4% of US imports from China and 58.3% of Chinese imports from the US.

Speaking in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Trudeau told lawmakers that “the idea of going to war with the United States isn’t what anyone wants”.

He called on them to not “panic”, and to work together.

“That is the work we will do seriously, methodically. But without freaking out,” he said.

The leaders of Canadian provinces suggested that they would impose their own tariffs on the US.

“The things we sell to the United States are the things they really need,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday. “We sell them oil, we sell them electricity, we sell them critical minerals and metals.”

America’s northern neighbour accounted for some $437bn (£347bn) of US imports in 2022, and was the largest market for US exports in the same year, according to US data.

Canada sends about 75% of its total exports to the US.

Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, said on Monday the proposed tariff would be “devastating to workers and jobs in both Canada and the US”.

“To compare us to Mexico is the most insulting thing I’ve ever heard,” said Ford.

Ford was echoed by the premiers of Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, while a post on the X account of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith acknowledged that Trump had “valid concerns related to illegal activities at our shared border”.

The Canadian dollar, the Loonie, has plunged in value since Trump vowed to impose tariffs on Canadian imports come January.

The Canadian dollar dipped below 71 US cents, the lowest level the Loonie has fallen to since May 2020, when Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods during his first stint as US president. The Mexican peso fell to its lowest value this year, around 4.8 cents.

Canada, Mexico, China respond to Trump tariff threats

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Trade war escalates as Trump metal tariffs take effect

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2 days ago

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March 12, 2025

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Trade war escalates as Trump metal tariffs take effect

Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on imports of steel and aluminium have taken effect in a move that will likely escalate tensions with some of America’s largest trading partners.

It sparked an immediate response from the European Union which said it will impose counter tariffs on billions of euros of US goods.

Trump hopes the tariffs will boost US steel and aluminium production, but critics say it will raise prices for US consumers and dent economic growth, as US markets sunk on Monday and Tuesday in response to recession fears.

On Tuesday, Trump u-turned on doubling the tariffs on Canada specifically in response to a surcharge Ontario had placed on electricity.

The tariffs mean that US businesses wanting to bring steel and aluminium into the country will have to pay a 25% tax on them.

The EU announced retaliatory tariffs on Wednesday in response on goods worth €26bn (£22bn).

They will be partially introduced 1 April and fully in place on 13 April.

European Union President Ursula von der Leyen said she “deeply regrets this measure” adding that tariffs are “bad for business and worse for consumers”.

“They are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake, prices up, nobody needs that, on both sides, neither in the EU or the US.”

She said the EU’s response was “strong but proportionate” and that the EU remains “open to negotiations”.

However, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), a group representing US steelmakers, welcomed the tariffs saying they will create jobs and boost domestic steel manufacturing.

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The group’s president Kevin Dempsey said the move closed a system of exemptions, exclusions and quotas that allowed foreign producers to avoid tariffs.

“AISI applauds the president’s actions to restore the integrity of the tariffs on steel and implement a robust and reinvigorated program to address unfair trade practices,” Mr Dempsey added.

The US is a major importer of aluminium and steel, and Canada, Mexico and Brazil are among its largest suppliers of the metals.

‘No exceptions’

Other countries also responded immediately to the move.

Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he was disappointed and “all options were on the table” to respond in the national interest.

Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said the Trump administration’s decision to go ahead with the new tariffs is “entirely unjustified”.

Albanese, who had been trying to secure an exemption to the tariffs, said Australia will not be imposing retaliatory duties because such a move would only drive up prices for Australian consumers.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Energy Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, told CNN his country would retaliate but added that Canada is not looking to escalate tensions.

Canada, is one of America’s closest trade partners, and the largest exporter of steel and aluminium to the US.

In 2018, during his first term as president, Trump imposed import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium, but carve-outs were eventually negotiated for many countries.

This time the Trump administration has signalled that there will be no exemptions.

British steel

Gareth Stace, director general at industry body UK Steel, said the US move was “hugely disappointing”.

Some steel company contracts have already been cancelled or been put on hold, he said, adding that customers in the US will have to pay £100m per year extra in the tax.

He said he shared Trump’s concerns about cheap steel flooding the market, but urged for him to work with the UK rather against it.

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“Surely President Trump realises that we are his friend, not his foe, and our valued customers in the US are our partners, they’re not our enemies,” he said.

Tariffs will “hit us hard” at a time when imports of steel into the UK are rising and the industry is “struggling” with energy prices.

The Unite union called on the government to “act decisively to protect the steel industry” because it is “a matter of national security”.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said there should be rules “to ensure that the public sector always buys UK produced steel”.

Recession fears

Michael DiMarino runs Linda Tool, a Brooklyn company that makes parts for the aerospace industry. Everything he makes involves some kind of steel, much of which comes from American mills.

“If I have higher prices, I pass them on to my customers. They have higher prices, they pass it on to the consumer,” Mr DiMarino said, adding that he supports the call for increased manufacturing in the US but warning the president’s moves could backfire.

The American Automotive Policy Council, a group that represents car giants such Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, also echoed suchworries.

The organisation’s president, Matt Blunt, said they “are concerned that specifically revoking exemptions for Canada and Mexico will add significant costs” to car makers’ suppliers.

Some economists are warning that the tariffs could help the US steel and aluminium industries but hurt the wider economy.

“It protects [the steel and aluminium] industries but hurts downstream users of their products by making them more expensive,” said Bill Reinsch, a former Commerce Department official, who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Fear of the economic cost of Trump’s trade tariffs have sparked a selloff in US and global stock markets which accelerated this week after the US president refused to rule out the prospect of an economic recession.

Meanwhile, research firm Oxford Economics, said in a report it had lowered its US growth forecast for the year from 2.4% to 2% and made even steeper adjustments to its outlook for Canada and Mexico.

“Despite the downgrade, we still expect the US economy to outperform the other major advanced economies over the next couple of years,” its report added.

 

Trade war escalates as Trump metal tariffs take effect

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US set to present 30-day ceasefire offer to Russia

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2 days ago

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March 12, 2025

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The move was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after peace talks between the US and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia

US set to present 30-day ceasefire offer to Russia

Ukraine has said it is ready to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire with Russia proposed by the US, after a day of US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would present the offer to Russia and that “the ball is in their court” – Moscow is yet to publicly comment on the issue.

Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelensky said it was now up to the US to convince Russia to agree to the “positive” proposal.

Tuesday’s talks in Jeddah were the first official meeting between the two countries since the extraordinary clash between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on 28 February.

In a joint statement, the US also said it would immediately restart intelligence sharing and security assistance to Ukraine, which Washington had suspended after the unprecedented public row at the White House.

“Both delegations agreed to name their negotiating teams and immediately begin negotiations toward an enduring peace that provides for Ukraine’s long-term security,” the US-Ukraine statement said.

Rubio told a press conference in Jeddah late on Tuesday that he hoped Russia would accept the proposal.

Ukraine was “ready to stop shooting and start talking,” he said, and if Russia rejected the offer “then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here”.

“Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate negotiations,” he said.

“We’ll take this offer now to the Russians and we hope they’ll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court,” he added.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who was at the Jeddah talks, is due to travel to Russia in the coming days, a source familiar with the planning told the BBC, although this could change quickly.

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The offer of a 30-day ceasefire goes beyond Zelensky’s proposal for a partial truce in the sky and at sea.

The Ukrainian president thanked Trump for “the constructiveness” of the talks in Jeddah.

In a video message, Zelensky said Russia had to “show its willingness to stop the war or continue the war”.

“It is time for the full truth,” he added.

The Kremlin has not yet publicly responded. It said earlier on Tuesday it would issue a statement after being briefed by Washington on the outcome of the talks.

But influential Russian lawmaker Kostantin Kosachev said that any potential agreements would be “on our terms, not American”.

Kosachev, chairman of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee, said “real agreements are still being written… at the front”, stressing that Russian troops were advancing in Ukraine.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

At the White House, Trump told reporters he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who would “hopefully” agree to the proposal.

“It takes two to tango, as they say,” Trump said, adding he hoped the deal would be agreed in the next few days.

“We have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and some great conversations hopefully will ensue.”

He added that he was open to inviting Zelensky back to Washington.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia had not ruled out talks with US representatives in the next few days, according to Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass.

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Asked by a reporter if Trump and Zelensky’s relationship was “back on track,” Rubio said he hoped it was “peace” that was back on track.

“This is not Mean Girls, this is not some episode of some television show,” he said.

“Today people will die in this war, they died yesterday and – sadly – unless there’s a ceasefire, they will die tomorrow.”

The US and Ukrainian teams met after overnight drone attacks killed at least three people near Moscow – which Russia said showed Ukraine had rejected using diplomacy to end the war.

Trump and Zelensky have also agreed to finalise “as soon as possible” a critical minerals deal, the joint statement said.

Ukraine has offered to grant the US access to its rare earth mineral reserves in exchange for US security guarantees – but this was derailed by the White House row.

Rubio said the deal had not been the subject of Tuesday’s talks, but had been negotiated with Ukrainian and US treasuries.

The US delegation in Jeddah also included US National Secuirty Adviser Mike Waltz.

The joint US-Ukraine statement said Kyiv had “reiterated” that Europe should be involved in any peace process.

The shift in America’s approach to the war – which has included locking Europe out of talks – has prompted several emergency meetings between European leaders in recent weeks.

The EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc welcomed Tuesday’s “positive development”.

Achieving a swift end to the war in Ukraine has been a key pledge for the US president.

He has placed increasing pressure on Zelensky to accept a ceasefire, without offering the immediate security guarantees insisted upon by the Ukrainian president.

On Friday, Trump issued a rare threat of further sanctions against Moscow in a push for a deal. Russia is already heavily sanctioned by the US over the war.

Trump said he was contemplating the move because “Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now”.

Meanwhile, the war continued on the ground on Tuesday.

Three men were killed in the Moscow region in what was described as the largest drone attack on the Russian capital since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

A further 18 people, including three children, were injured, health officials told Russian media.

The Russian defence ministry said 337 drones were intercepted over Russia and 91 of them were shot down over the Moscow region.

Ukrainian officials reported Russian drone attacks on the capital Kyiv and several other regions.

Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down 79 of 126 drones launched by Russia, as well as an Iskander-M ballistic missile.

It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties.

US set to present 30-day ceasefire offer to Russia

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Trial of doctors who treated Diego Maradona begins

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March 11, 2025

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Diego Maradona

Trial of doctors who treated Diego Maradona begins

Seven members of the medical team that treated football legend Diego Maradona before his death will go on trial for homicide, starting on Tuesday in Buenos Aires.

They are accused of negligence in the death of the World Cup winner in 2020. 

Maradona suffered a fatal heart attack at home in November that year, just two weeks after he was released from hospital following surgery for a bleed on his brain. 

His family alleged negligence, a cover-up, and derogatory comments from the medical team who oversaw his care – calling it a ‘mafia’.  

Maradona had struggled with drug addiction, obesity and alcoholism for decades, and reportedly came close to death in 2000 and 2004. 

But prosecutors suspect that – were it not for the negligence of his doctors, his death could have been avoided.

Seven of the eight medical professionals who have been charged in the case, including Maradona’s brain surgeon, psychiatrist and nurses, are now standing trial for culpable homicide, a crime which roughly equates to involuntary manslaughter.

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They deny wrongdoing but could face up to 25 years in prison.

Dalma Maradona, the legend’s eldest daughter, shared a video containing audio she claims proves serious irregularities in her father’s care. And she revealed that her mother is in fear of the ‘mafia’ who ‘control everything’. 

‘My mother is worried because she is afraid,’ she said on the Angel Responde show on Bondi Live. 

‘Afraid of the mafia, of those who control everything, have money and power. But I don’t care. I know who I am up against, but I cannot remain silent. We need people to know the truth. My mother tells me all the time “shut up, don’t say anything, I’m scared,” but I can’t. I owe it to him.’

Dalma was previously reported to have alleged that a ‘mafia of assassins’ caused her father’s death. She claims there are recordings that exist that prove a lack of medical attention with conversations about cover-ups and professional negligence, Argentine outlet Diario Registrado report.

Maradona won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986, having knocked England out in the quarter-final with the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal and another – later voted ‘Goal of the Century.’

Trial of doctors who treated Diego Maradona begins

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