President Donald Trump "blinked" on his tariffs against Canada and Mexico before they could cause real harm to the economy, the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote on Monday.
At the last minute, the president delayed draconian 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico by a month, proclaiming both countries had agreed to an interim border security agreement — even though both countries agreed to do things they were already doing.
"If the North American leaders need to cheer about a minor deal so they all claim victory, that’s better for everyone," wrote the board. "The need is especially important for Mr. Trump given how much he has boasted that his tariffs are a fool-proof diplomatic weapon against friend or foe. Mr. Trump can’t afford to look like the guy who lost. [Mexican President Claudia] Sheinbaum in particular seems to recognize this, and so far she’s playing her Trump cards with skill."
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"None of this means the tariffs are some genius power play, as the Trump media chorus is boasting," the board cautioned. "The 25% border tax could return in a month if Mr. Trump is in the wrong mood, or if he doesn’t like something the foreign leaders have said or done. It also isn’t clear what Mr. Trump really wants his tariffs to achieve. Are they about reducing the flow of fentanyl, or is his real goal to rewrite the North American trade deal he signed in his first term? If it’s the latter, there’s more political volatility ahead."
Ultimately, Trump backed down from the abyss this time — but the chaos is just beginning, warned the board.
"Mr. Trump’s weekend tariff broadside against a pair of neighbors has opened a new era of economic policy uncertainty that won’t calm down until the President does," the board concluded. "As we warned many times before Election Day, this is the biggest economic risk of Donald Trump’s second term."
