President Donald Trump has announced that no one can stop the imposition of a 25% tax on goods imported from neighboring countries Canada and Mexico, and these taxes are being implemented from March 4 as per the set schedule. The White House has confirmed the imposition of taxes on the two neighboring countries. After announcing a $ 100 billion investment in Arizona by a Taiwanese semiconductor company, Trump said that Mexico and Canada cannot avoid the tax. He said, “The taxes will be implemented tomorrow.” Trump said that the tax is an easy way to prevent American jobs from going to other countries because US companies set up units in foreign countries and resell their goods to American customers. He said, “It is a very powerful weapon that politicians have not used because they were dishonest and stupid or they had some other advantage.” On the other hand, Canada and Mexico have also prepared to impose retaliatory taxes on American goods. Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has announced that her country will respond in kind. She told reporters that we are ready. “We will deal with the kind of unexpected and chaotic statements that are coming out of the White House,” she said. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that “her government is calm because it is waiting for Trump’s decision. If the US is bold enough to impose tariffs, we will respond.” She refused to elaborate on her plan, saying that she has a plan B, C and D.
On the other hand, this move by the Trump administration is likely to have a wide-ranging impact on the US economy. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, for example, imposing a 25% tax on alcohol from Canada and Mexico would eliminate 31,000 US jobs. According to the council, last year the US imported $5.2 billion worth of tequila from Mexico, while $622 million worth of alcohol came from Canada. Thousands of people involved in this business could lose their jobs. Chris Swanger, CEO of the council, said in a statement that imposing taxes on spirits products from Canada and Mexico would jeopardize the industry’s contribution to the US economy. He said that we are concerned that American alcohol will disappear from Canadian stores again and that the retaliatory tax on American whiskey will worsen the situation. In addition, agricultural products will also become more expensive because Canada and Mexico export agricultural products to the US on a large scale. The US imports fresh fruits and vegetables from Mexico, while Canada exports other goods to the US, in addition to grains, meat and poultry products. These two countries are major trading partners of the US.
