USA: Duties on Mexico, Canada, China Come into Effect
Tariffs of 25% for two neighboring countries and 10% for China
No retreats, no compromises: on Saturday, February 1, the axe of additional duties demanded by US President Donald Trump came down on two countries and the United States’ closest partners, Mexico and Canada, as well as China. According to the White House, these three countries are “responsible for the invasion of migrants and fentanyl, a drug that is killing thousands of Americans.”
As Trump spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt (pictured) announced, duties of 25% against Mexico and Canada and 10% against Chinese exports to the USA will be applied starting February 1.
Leavitt categorically denied press “rumors” of “ongoing confidential negotiations” as well as a “change of heart” with a possible March postponement: “The tariffs go into effect on February 1,” Leavitt told reporters, also rejecting “threats” by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said “Canada is prepared to respond strongly and immediately.”
“It’s not what we want, but if (Trudeau) continues to do it, we’ll do the same thing,” Leavitt said, urging the Canadian prime minister to “better talk directly to Trump before making statements like that in the media.”
The additional duties also represent a stark warning to the BRICS countries: Trump threatened to impose 100% duties “if they create their own single currency as an alternative to the dollar.”
In this context, the world media recall that Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow “does not want to give up the dollar at all, but the USA and its allies, through sanctions, do not allow us to use it.”
The BRICS group members are discussing not the creation of a single currency, but the development of new investment platforms. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press conference that “it’s all about creating new common investment platforms that will allow joint investments in third countries.”
Finally, the sword of Damocles hangs over the head of the European Union. “Trump,” Leavitt said, “has not yet decided on a timeline for imposing duties on European countries.” However, Trump himself, when asked directly if he intends to tax European products, said: “Of course I’m going to do it. Europe has treated us very badly.”