The president of Mexico and the prime minister of Canada have both announced plans to retaliate against Mr. Trump's latest tariff order with their own tariffs and other measures.
Trucks line up on the route to the US from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, January 31 - Photo: REUTERS
Immediately after Mr. Trump signed an order to impose heavy taxes on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China on February 1, Vietnam time, President Claudia Sheinbaum affirmed that she would respond.
Ms Sheinbaum said she had asked the country's economy minister to "implement Plan B, which we have been working on, which includes tariff and non-tariff measures to protect Mexico's interests".
In a lengthy post on social network X, the Mexican president stressed that her government wants cooperation and dialogue, not confrontation with the northern giant.
Since taking office in October 2024, Ms. Sheinbaum has repeatedly sought to ease tensions with US President Donald Trump.
She claimed that Mexico had seized 20 million pills of the addictive painkiller fentanyl, in addition to arresting more than 10,000 individuals involved in drug trafficking.
Earlier the same day, the White House announced that Mr. Trump signed a decision to raise tariffs on major trading partners Canada, Mexico and China.
Specifically, Canadian and Mexican exports to the US will be subject to a 25% tariff, while Chinese goods will be taxed an additional 10%. These tariffs will take effect from February 4.
Mr Trump said the tariffs on Mexico were due to the country's failure to stop fentanyl from entering the US as well as what he described as uncontrolled migration.
However, Ms. Sheinbaum rejected Washington's accusations that her government was involved with drug trafficking groups.
"We completely reject the White House's accusations that the Mexican government is in league with criminal organizations. If there is such a league anywhere, it is the gun shops in the United States that sell heavy weapons to these criminal groups," she said.
The Mexican president said if the US government wants to tackle the fentanyl epidemic, it should fight street drug sales in its own country and the money laundering that comes from that illegal activity.
In a related development, on February 1 local time, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also officially announced measures to respond to the new US tariff policy.
Accordingly, Canada will impose a 25% tax on 155 billion Canadian dollars ($106.5 billion) worth of US goods. A quantity of 30 billion Canadian dollars will be taxed from February 4 and the remaining amount will take effect in 21 days.
Ottawa is also considering a number of non-tariff measures, including those related to critical minerals, energy procurement and other partnerships with the United States.
In his speech, Mr. Trudeau warned that Mr. Trump’s tariffs would hurt the United States. He also encouraged Canadians to buy domestic products and take vacations at home instead of in the United States.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mexico-canada-tuyen-bo-tra-dua-sac-lenh-thue-quan-cua-ong-trump-2025020209334975.htm
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