‘Dumb’: Canada, Mexico Blast Historic Trump Tariffs, threaten reprisals

The closest neighbors in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the former president Donald Trump for slapping historical tariffs of their countries.

Trump’s general tariffs entered into force on Tuesday, along with greater duties over China’s goods, a measure that caused a rapid retaliation of Beijing.

“President Trump continues to demonstrate his commitment to ensure that US trade policy serves the national interest,” said the White House in A statement.

The goods that enter the United States from Mexico and Canada will carry a 25% tariff, while China’s will be subject to a 10% increase in existing rates, according to the White House.

American tariffs are at their highest level since 1943, said Yale’s budget laboratory.

On February 27, Trump claimed that illicit drugs such as fentanyl had continued to enter the United States through Mexico and Canada despite the agreements reached last month to address the problem.

Since September, almost all fentanyl seized by the United States arrived through the southern border with Mexico, according to the US Customs and Border Patrolor CBP, a federal agency. CBP discovered that less than 1% of the fentanil was seized on the northern border with Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, abruptly criticized tariffs, calling them a “silly” policy that does not “make sense.”

The reason for tariffs is based on a false accusation about Canada as an important source of drugs entering the United States, Trudeau added.

“It’s an example of [Trump] You really can’t see what you want, because even the excuse you are giving for these fentanyl rates today is completely false, completely unjustified. [and] completely false, “Trudeau said.

Trudeau also criticized Trump for heating relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin in discussions about the Russian-Ukraine war. “They have chosen to do this as they appease Putin,” Trudeau said.

In response, Canada slapped a 25% retaliation tariff on goods worth $ 30 billion. Tariffs on additional products worth $ 125 billion will enter into force in 21 days, Trudeau said.

“We will not go back to a fight,” Trudeau added, saying that the Canadians would punish the United States with their pockets.

“We are going to stop consuming American products,” said Trudeau, pointing out the public anger highlighted in recent sporting events during which Canadians booed the national anthem of the United States. “We will continue to boo the hymn of the United States. We are not booing the people of America, only this unfair policy.”

The Prime Minister of Ontario, Doug Ford, who directs the most populous province in the country, said that his government could end a contract with Elon Musk’s satellite Internet service and close power to the United States.

“We will reorganize for new markets and new customers,” Ford said.

Hours after Trudeau’s comments, Trump promised to impose additional tariffs in response to Canada’s countermeasures.

“Explain to Governor Trudeau, from Canada, that when he performs a retaliation rate on the United States, our reciprocal rate will immediately increase in a similar amount!” Trump said in a publication in Social truth.

Meanwhile, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum also criticized tariffs and announced plans to impose retaliation rates.

Sheinbaum rebuked the comments made by Trump on Monday claiming that “large amounts of fentanyl” have entered the United States from Mexico. Sheinbaum cited CBP data that shows that Fentanyl convulsions of Mexico decreased 50% between October 2024 and January 2025.

“There is no reason or reason, or justification that supports this decision that will affect our people and our nations,” said Sheinbaum. “We have said it in different ways: cooperation and coordination, yes; subordination and interventionism, no.”

Sheinbaum said he will speak with Trump on Thursday, and if no agreement can be reached, he will announce the measures of rates and non -tariffs in a demonstration on Sunday.

China response

A few minutes after the new US tariffs.

These duties will be aware of the similar rates imposed during the commercial war of the first Trump administration in 2018. Some of those rates are already 25%, although Beijing issued some exemptions as a result of the commercial agreement of 2020 “Phase one”.

The new Chinese tariffs will enter into force for the products sent next Monday, March 10.

Shares prices fall

A Saw command negotiation session on Tuesday ended with actions that had fallen significantly.

The industrial average Dow Jones fell 670 points, or 1.5%; While the S& P 500 fell 1.2%. The nasdaq technological heavy reduced 0.3%.

The actions of the retail giant Target fell 3% on Tuesday, after a release of the company that cited “tariff uncertainty” as a potential impediment to the business. The price of Walmart’s shares fell around 2.5% on Tuesday, while Amazon shares decreased 0.6%.

Best Buy’s actions collapsed more than 13%. The strong fall occurred after Best Buy CEO told analysts that price increases are “very likely” as a result of rates.

The highest costs for cars production could also raise a challenge for American car manufacturers, many of which depend on a closely intertwined supply chain with Mexico and Canada.

Ford shares fell almost 3% on Tuesday, while General Motors fell around 4.5%. Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep and Chrysler, saw that the shares decreased more than 4%.

United Autoworkers, which represents Ford, General Motors and Stellantis workers, applauded tariffs as a means to prevent car manufacturers from replacing US workers with employees with poor payments abroad.

“Corporations have been promoting a race without stopping to the bottom by killing good blue neck jobs in the United States to exploit some poor workers in another country by paying poverty salaries,” UAW said in a statement to ABC News.

“The tariffs are a powerful tool in the toolbox to undo the injustice of the commercial anti-workers agreements,” UAW added. “We are glad to see an American president take aggressive measures to end the free trade disaster that has fallen as a bomb in the working class.”

Zunaira Zaki and Anne Laurent of ABC News contributed to this report.