In a week full of retaliatory actions, President Trump has shown a bit of a soft side. The President has granted temporary tariff exemptions for Canadian and Mexican imports covered by the North American trade agreement known as USMCA until April 2nd. According to the officials in the White House, around 50% of Mexican and 38% of Canadian imports are covered by the trade agreement.
These exemptions will only be given till April 2nd. After April 2nd, Trump’s reciprocal tariffs will come into effect, and the countries will be charged according to that. Many countries have reacted to this move by the Trump administration. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that she thinks Mexico should be spared when these reciprocal tariffs come into effect, as Mexico and the US have a very good relationship.
Similarly, Canadian President Justin Trudeau said that his goal remains firm, i.e., to get all the tariffs removed. Moreover, many provinces in Canada have already banned some American goods from entering their territory. Recently, Alberta banned the sale of American whiskey in the province and said that they would run a marketing campaign to ensure that Canadians lean more towards local products.
However, one country that has not succumbed to the economic attack from the US is China. Recently, the Chinese Embassy in the US shared a post on X saying, “If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.” Now, it will be interesting to see how the world will react once the tariffs are imposed after April 2nd, 2025.
