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President Trump has recently decided to impose tariffs on goods sent to the U.S. from countries across the globe. The countries these tariffs affect are Canada, China, and Mexico. Although all three of these countries had tariffs imposed on them for goods imported from their countries to the United States, the tariffs that were applied aren't all equal. While China got off slightly easier with a 10% tariff, Canada and Mexico seemed to both get the short end of the stick with a whopping 25% tariff on all goods imported from their countries to the U.S., which means it will cost more for sellers and likely buyers of said goods imported from these countries.
All three countries with tariffs imposed on them are not backing down lightly at all, with Canada deciding to fight back against the U.S. with a 25% tariff of their own for imports, and Mexico doing the same but has yet to disclose the exact amount of the tariff. China, on the other hand, has chosen a more lawful approach, with them preparing to file a lawsuit against the United States with the WTO (World Trade Organization). With all of these negative implications being opposed to the United States, you may wonder why Trump isn't choosing to back down from his aggressive tariffs. From a statistical point, Trump is making smart decisions. In 2023, 76% of all of Canada's exports were sent to the US, which accounts for around 19% of their entire GDP (Gross Domestic Product) In 2024, Mexico sent 78% of all of their exports to the United States, which makes up 37% of their entire GDP, while the United States exports to Canada and Mexico combined only account for 2.7% of our entire GDP. As shown by these statistics, Mexico and Canada don't have much power when it comes to a tariff war against the United States.
Short term, these tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China are going to have large effects on the U.S. and its citizens as well as allow our president to use it for certain things. The main short-term effect is going to be a price increase for American companies. This means that companies will likely hand down these extra costs to consumers by increasing item costs for them. President Trump also plans to use these tariffs as a tool to pressure Canada, Mexico and China to do what Trump wants. Some things he plans to do include renegotiating trade deals with these countries, stopping illegal immigration from these countries, stopping fentanyl from entering the U.S. and while unrealistic, getting Canada to join the U.S. as the 51st state
Long term, these tariffs will have lots of effects on the U.S. and its citizens. President Trump has imposed these tariffs in hopes of changing consumer habits of U.S. citizens to purchase more American-made products due to them being cheaper because of tariffs, which can help boost our own economy. In turn with the consumer product changes he hopes it will incentivize more international companies to build factories and produce their products in the U.S. Such changes could mean a stronger U.S. economy that has more stable jobs & is less dependent on foreign countries to supply the U.S. with goods. Trump's long-term goals are already showing signs of success, with Japan's PM announcing that Japanese car manufacturers like Isuzu and Toyota would be factories in the US, which would create thousands of new high-paying job opportunities for Americans. In turn, all these things show the effects that Trump's tariffs currently have and will have on the United States and its citizens.
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