Following the imposition of massive tariffs by President Donald Trump, Canada and Mexico have taken action. The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, has issued a warning that the acts of the President will have “real consequences for the American people.”
Even though President Trump has only been back in the White House for about two weeks, he has already made a significant number of changes to the way the United States government is managed in that short period of time.
Heck, Trump shattered records for the number of executive orders signed on his first day as president, with changes to passports and immigration being among some of his first measures. He also set records for the quantity of executive orders signed.
Additionally, the Trump administration has slapped higher tariffs on imports from nations such as China, Canada, and Mexico. The tariffs on imports imported from Mexico and Canada are at a rate of 25 percent, while the taxes on goods imported from China are at a rate of 10 percent.
It should come as no surprise that the administrations of Canada, Mexico, and China have not been pleased with the recent modifications.
Shortly before the details of the increased tariffs were revealed on Saturday (February 1), the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, made the following statement: “We are ready with a response, a purposeful, forceful but reasonable, immediate response.”
Additionally, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated the following during a press briefing that took place on Friday (January 31): “We have Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C, depending on what the government of the United States decides regarding the situation.”
“It is very important for the people of Mexico to know that we will always defend the dignity of our people, that we will always defend respect for our sovereignty, and engage in dialogue as equals, as we have always stated, without subordination.”
As a direct response to the executive order issued by Trump, the presidents of Canada and Mexico both announced the imposition of counter-tariffs on Saturday evening simultaneously.
Canada is slapping tariffs of 25 percent on commodities from the United States that total CA $155 billion.
The Canadian prime minister stated: “It will have real consequences for you, the American people.”
In addition, the Prime Minister of Canada stated in a speech that he delivered on Saturday that “the actions taken by the White House split us apart instead of bringing us together.”
In the meantime, Sheinbaum said in a message on Twitter that she has given orders to her economic minister to take actions that will safeguard Mexico’s best interests.
“We categorically reject the White House’s slander that the Mexican government has alliances with criminal organisations, as well as any intention of meddling in our territory,” the Mexican government’s president wrote.
“If the United States government and its agencies wanted to address the serious fentanyl consumption in their country, they could fight the sale of drugs on the streets of their major cities, which they don’t do, and the laundering of money that this illegal activity generates that has done so much harm to its population.”
