Trump ready for trade showdown
The president has left several questions about his plans unanswered, such as how high the tariffs might be, when they would be implemented, under which law they would be issued and which goods might be exempted.
Trump's most aggressive proposal, however, would hit all Canadian and Mexican products with 25 percent import taxes. Experts say doing so would spur near-immediate increases in food and fuel prices, while prompting damaging retaliation from two countries deeply integrated into the U.S. economy.
'That would be a massive deal. These are America's two largest trading partners. We depend on imports from both of those countries, and your first-order impact is higher prices for American consumers and for companies,' said Edward Fishman, a senior research scholar and adjunct professor at Columbia University.
'And I think that's why you see a lot of people, including folks who supported President Trump, voice a lot of concerns,' added Fishman, author of the forthcoming book 'Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare.'
During his first term, Trump led a renegotiation of NAFTA that earned praise from Democrats and union advocates for boosting U.S. products through various labor and environmental stipulations.
But Trump has expanded the aims of his tariffs — and his ire with Canada and Mexico — during his second term. The president has alleged that Canada and Mexico are refusing to take necessary steps to stop the flow of migrants and lethal drugs such as fentanyl into the U.S.
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