To be heard and respect, should we use the same threatening tone as US President Donald Trump? This is what its reverse is suggested on the customs prices imposed in Canada and Mexico, just two days after their entry into force. The Republican President has paused the 25 % customs duties for Mexican and Canadian products until April 2, respecting the specifications of the Canada-Mexico (ACEUM) free trade agreement.
This decision one day comes after the announcement of a 30 -day first stay granted to car manufacturers, who complained to the president that taxes would cause them serious damage. Donald Trump nevertheless suggested that any reduction would be short -lived, saying that other customs duties on Canadian and Mexican products would be applied in April.
The American president first announced Thursday, March 6, an exemption from Mexican products after an exchange with President Claudia Sheinbaum. The latter said she had an “excellent and respectful” call with Donald Trump, adding that the two countries would work together to stem Mexico’s fentanyl flow to the United States and slow down arms traffic in the other direction.
“Colorful” conversation
A few hours later, the American president also rear back to Canada, notably following a “colorful” conversation between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his counterpart in the White House. After the taxation of these customs duties on the United States side, Canada had retaliated on Tuesday by taxes on $ 20.5 billion in American goods, including agricultural products. Ottawa had also assured that the list would lie over time, reaching a total of $ 87 billion.
Shortly after Donald Trump’s flip-flop, Canada has therefore given up set up, for the time being, its second phase of customs duties on American products “until April 2, the time we continue to work to withdraw all taxes,” the Canadian Minister of Finance, Dominic Leblanc said. If he was positive with regard to the Mexican president, Donald Trump has kept a more acerbic tone with regard to Justin Trudeau, accusing him of using the question of customs duties to try to hang on to power, while the Prime Minister will leave his post in a few days.
However, the decision to suspend customs duties was not enough to calm the financial markets, which have been nervous for several days. In addition to hitting Canada and Mexico, Donald Trump imposed a second 10 % price on all Chinese imports, which sparked a new series of Beijing reprisals on American products. The president has suspended any of his samples from China.
The S&P 500 index, which follows the largest US companies listed on the stock market, dropped 1.8 % on Thursday, bringing the drop in the index this week to 3.6 % and starting it towards its worst week from the banking crisis two years ago. The New York Stock Exchange ended on Thursday a third session of strong decrease in four days, disappointed to learn the maintenance of customs duties on steel and aluminum. “I don’t look at the markets,” said Donald Trump to the press.
In addition, the risks of stagflation, the association of low growth and high inflation, have returned in the mouth of a certain number of analysts. “In the long term I am not worried about inflation,” said the secretary of the treasure, Scott is considering that “access to cheap products is not the foundation of the American dream”, but rather “prosperity, social ascent and economic security” for all.