Trump vows big tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

ALSO READ: Here's why Trump and the GOP are doomed

Trump vows big tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China
Donald Trump warned repeatedly during the election campaign that he would impose tariffs, but experts warn that the costs could be passed on to American consumers (Allison ROBBERT/AFP)

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he intends to impose sweeping tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, prompting a swift warning from Beijing that "no one will win a trade war."

In a series of posts to his Truth Social account, Trump vowed to hit some of the United States' largest trading partners with duties on all goods entering the country.

"On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 percent tariff on ALL products coming into the United States," he wrote.

In another post, Trump said he would also be slapping China with a 10 percent tariff, "above any additional Tariffs," in response to what he said was its failure to tackle fentanyl smuggling.

Tariffs are a key part of Trump's economic agenda, with the Republican vowing wide-ranging duties on allies and adversaries alike while he was on the campaign trail.

Both China and Canada issued swift responses, each calling their trade relationships with the United States "mutually beneficial."

"No one will win a trade war," Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China's embassy in the United States, told AFP by email, defending Beijing's efforts to curb fentanyl smuggling.

"China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature," Liu added.

Canada said it was "essential" to US energy supplies, and insisted the relationship benefits American workers.

"We will of course continue to discuss these issues with the incoming administration," said the statement from Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Trump's first term in the White House was marked by an aggressive and protectionist trade agenda that also targeted China, Mexico and Canada, as well as Europe.

While in the White House, Trump launched an all-out trade war with China, imposing significant tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods.

At the time he cited unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft, and the trade deficit as justifications.

China responded with retaliatory tariffs on American products, particularly affecting U.S. farmers.

The U.S., Mexico and Canada are tied to a three-decade-old free trade agreement, now called the USMCA, that was renegotiated under Trump after he complained that the US businesses, especially automakers, were losing out.

"Mexico and Canada remain heavily dependent on the US market so their ability to walk away from President-elect Trump's threats remains limited," Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, and former US trade official, told AFP.

By citing the fentanyl crisis and illegal immigration, Trump appeared to be using national security concerns as a means to break that deal, something that is usually allowed under the rules set by the World Trade Organization or in trade deals.

But most countries and the WTO treat national security exceptions as something to be used sparingly, not as a routine tool of trade policy.

Trump in 2018 cited national security justifications to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that targeted close allies like Canada, Mexico, and the European Union.

This led to retaliatory measures from the trading partners.

- 'Bet on China tariffs' -

Many economists have warned that tariffs would hurt growth and push up inflation, since they are primarily paid by importers bringing the goods into the US, who often pass those costs on to consumers.

But those in Trump's inner circle have insisted that the tariffs are a useful bargaining chip for the US to push its trading partners to agree to more favorable terms, and to bring back manufacturing jobs from overseas.

Trump has said he will put his commerce secretary designate Howard Lutnick, a China hawk, in charge of trade policy.

Lutnick has expressed support for a tariff level of 60 percent on Chinese goods alongside a 10 percent tariff on all other imports.

William Reinsch, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that that move was classic Trump: "threaten, and then negotiate."

"In terms of what might actually happen, I'd bet on some China tariffs going into effect. That's legally easier and politically more palatable," he said.

"On Canada and Mexico there was going to be a renegotiation of their trade deal (the USMCA) anyway in 2026."

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Trump 'turning White House into Mar a Lago' with renovation plan: analysis

Donald Trump is converting the White House into Mar a Lago, according to a political commentator who broke down the president's biggest blunders this year.

Mikey Smith, writing in The Mirror, believes the president is "fighting the old wars of 2020" and attempting to convert as much of the White House as he can into a place that more closely resembles his Florida resort. Trump has spent much of his time at Mar a Lago during the first year of his second term, often giving briefings from the golf club, rather than the Oval Office.

Smith wrote, "A year into his second term in office, polls make him the second most unpopular President of all time. He's spending most of his time fighting the old wars of 2020, punishing his enemies and remodelling the White House to more closely resemble Mar A Lago. He schmoozes America's enemies and alienates her allies."

But it's the renovation work which Trump has carried out not just on the East Wing of the White House, but to the interior decorations, that is a sign of concern.

Smith added, "The new ballroom is just part of a gradual process throughout the year to turn the White House into Mar a Lago. Every time the Oval Office was on TV, there was a fresh gold (painted) sconce or detail somewhere."

"The art deco bathroom in the "Lincoln bedroom" was torn out to make way for the kind of polished marble monstrosity one only sees in a building that either has Trump in it or written on the outside."

"He paved over the rose garden to put a patio out there to match the one at his Florida resort - inviting Republicans over for dinner and glad-handing on late summer evenings. Even the two enormous flagpoles he installed on the White House lawn were identical to one he has in Palm Beach."

Future projects which could see the president's administration refresh the Eisenhower Building have led to Trump being hit with a lawsuit by preservation groups.

The suit has asked the US District Court for the District of Columbia to stop Trump and other federal officials from making any changes to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building before the potential changes are assessed in a standard review process. Judge Dabney L. Friedrich is, according to The Washington Post, expected to rule on this request.

Heller said, "GSA will not authorize or engage in the physical actions of power washing/cleaning, painting, or repointing the Eisenhower Executive Office Building before Dec. 31, 2025." Work on other parts of the White House, such as the East Wing, began earlier this year.

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Trump spreading MAGA 'personality cult' across the world with one key change: analysis

Donald Trump is pushing the MAGA "personality cult" across the world with one key change, according to a political analysist.

CNN correspondent Stephen Collinson believes the Trump administration has been all too obvious with their spread of MAGA beliefs on the world stage. The president, he argues, "doesn't bother with pretense" when it comes to sharing what he believes is the best course of action in world politics.

Collinson wrote, "Most presidents profess not to interfere in other countries’ domestic politics and elections — despite decades of nefarious US political game-playing abroad. President Donald Trump doesn’t bother with the pretense."

"A leader who transformed the Republican Party into a partial personality cult and whose every life experience seems to involve the flexing of leverage doesn’t stop at the water’s edge."

The columnist would go on to suggest countries where the Trump name is popular is where he can best exhibit his "great political influence". Collinson shared, "In his second term, Trump is acting as the global head of a nationalist political movement, seeking to shape partisan politics in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, South Korea, Venezuela, South Africa and across the Atlantic."

"In most cases, Trump promoted leaders and candidates who favor his populist nationalism, those who flatter him, or who face legal battles that mirror his own."

"On Monday, he plunged yet again into the politics of Israel, where he is highly popular and thus enjoys great political influence ahead of a general election expected next year."

Trump has pushed back on what is expected of a sitting president when it comes to world politics, Collinson argues, by being so hands on with countries and their elections.

He wrote, "American presidents have traditionally balked at being seen to overtly interfere in the politics of foreign nations. To start with, it’s bad manners. And few presidents would enjoy the favor being returned to help their political opponents."

"The Trump administration, however, rarely stops trying to shape foreign politics for its own gain. Last week, for instance, Honduras announced that the conservative National Party candidate Nasry Asfura had won a tight presidential election."

"Trump had warned there’d be “hell to pay” if Asfura didn’t emerge from a prolonged counting process as the winner. Trump has repeatedly sought to use US power to shape the politics of the Western Hemisphere in his populist image."

'Insecure and afraid': Trump's niece says president is overwhelmed by second term

Donald Trump's niece has suggested the president is "insecure and afraid" and has been for much of his second term in the White House.

Mary Trump believes the frequent changes in government and administration blunders from cabinet members has caused strain on the president, who is now coming apart. In a video uploaded to her YouTube channel, Mary Trump claimed Trump is a "terrible leader" whose insecurities are now making him a "dangerous" president.

She said, "It goes without saying that Donald is a terrible leader, but one of the things that makes him a dangerous one is his incredible insecurity. What seems to be happening is that he's becoming more and more insecure over time. It seems the more he gets of what he thinks he wants, money, power, chaos, the more insecure and afraid he becomes."

"It's dangerous but it's also extremely embarrassing to have as the head of our country someone who is so thirsty and easily manipulated." Mary Trump would use the Kennedy Center Honors as evidence of this, moving the ceremony from "prestige and gravitas" to "cheap, partisan, dry husk of what it used to be."

Trump's niece suggested the "hostile takeover" of the Kennedy Center is part of a bigger plan from Trump. She said, "The president is supposed to sit in the audience with the honorees, that's it. Donald also said, 'I don't know why I'm doing this', well he's doing this because he needs the attention and because he doesn't have anything better to do, quite frankly."

"He wasn't joking then, either, about calling it the Trump Kennedy Center honor, though I think he misspoke. If you seriously think he's going to keep the name Kennedy in the title, you would be sorely mistaken."

Mary Trump also noted changes to the Institute of Peace in Washington D.C. as an example of Trump placing his name on government buildings. She said, "The Trump regime is actually trying to dismantle the Institute of Peace. He still really wants that Nobel Peace Prize, I'm sure the FIFA Peace Prize was a consolation to him, but it's no Nobel Peace Prize."

"Perhaps renaming the Institute of Peace after himself will trick the Nobel committee into thinking that Donald actually cares about peace, which he does not."

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