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Tariffs

Trump Escalates Trade War With 25% Tariffs On Steel And Aluminum

February 15, 2025 Masao Suzuki, Fight Back! News. , , , , ,
San José, CA – On Monday, February 10, President Trump signed an executive order raising tariffs, or taxes on imports, to 25% on steel and aluminum. The tariffs are to start on March 4. While his first round of tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China was based on a “national emergency” of refugees and drugs coming into the country, the latest tariff order used a “national security” rationale. They are seen as less likely to be suspended as the first round was. Trump says that these tariffs will create jobs and expand manufacturing, but in fact they raise prices and cause overall job losses in manufacturing.

Should Canada Be Ready To Switch Sides?

February 15, 2025 Jen St. Denis, The Tyee. , , , ,
Jeff Rubin is the former chief economist for CIBC World Markets and is the bestselling author of a number of popular economics books that have tried to explain how the world is changing and departing from the norms of the 20th century to a more unsettled era of scarcity, inequality, natural disasters and war. His previous books have warned about the end of cheap oil and explained how the middle class “got screwed” by globalization. Rubin’s latest book is called The Map of the New Normal: How Inflation, War, and Sanctions Will Change Your World Forever, and it tackles the rapid inflation that hit economies across the globe in the wake of pandemic measures.

Trump’s Trade Wars Push US Allies Into Open Rebellion

February 8, 2025 Robert Inlakesh, MintPress News. , , , , , , ,
In an increasingly multipolar world, Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and the European Union threaten to erode the United States’ global standing. The move has even provoked a backlash from Canada, a historically close ally, where citizens have responded by launching a significant boycott movement. With the notable exception of Israel, Trump has strained relations with nearly all of Washington’s traditional allies. Among the most unexpected targets of his rhetoric has been Canada, a country he has suggested should “become our cherished 51st state.”

Trump’s Tariffs Could Cause Huge Global Crisis

February 5, 2025 Michael Hudson and Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , , , , , , ,
The US designed the global financial system in a way in which the US dollar is at the center, and other countries need to get access to dollars to pay off their dollar-denominated debt, and to pay for imports. Yet, in order for this system to work, the US has to run a deficit with the rest of the world, a current account deficit, so other countries can get those dollars. But Trump wants to disrupt this. He says he wants to tariff other countries to reduce the US trade deficit, which means that other countries won’t be able to get the dollars they need to pay off their debt and to pay for imports.

50,000 Jobs, Social Programs, And Medical Centers

February 4, 2025 Tallis Boerne Marcus, People's Dispatch. , , , , , , , ,
As the Trump administration intensifies its threats of mass deportations, Latin American nations are bracing for the impact. Mexico’s response, led by President Claudia Sheinbaum, has largely flown under the radar, despite its measured and humanitarian-focused approach. While the Mexican government has made it clear that there’s no need to panic just yet, Sheinbaum’s administration is well-prepared to face the challenges ahead. In the week from January 20-26, there were 4,094 people deported to Mexico, the vast majority Mexican. However, Sheinbaum made it clear this number alone isn’t out-of-the-ordinary. “[These deportations happened] With the arrival of President Trump, but if we take it week by week, this is a number that we’ve had on other occasions in our country.”

Mexico And Canada Hit Back, China Pulls Punches On Trump’s Tariffs

February 3, 2025 Erin Hale and John Power, Al Jazeera. , , , , , ,
Within hours of United States President Donald Trump announcing tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico over the weekend, his Canadian and Mexican counterparts hit back with their own levies on US goods. The response from China, Washington’s biggest strategic rival, was notably more restrained. China’s Ministry of Commerce did not announce specific tariffs in its response on Sunday, stating only that it would take “corresponding countermeasures to firmly safeguard its rights and interests”. The ministry also said it would challenge the tariffs at the World Trade Organization, a largely symbolic measure since its appellate body has been non-functioning since late 2019 due to Washington’s refusal to support the appointment of new judges.

Canada Tariffs: Trudeau Hits Back Against Trump With 25% Levy

February 2, 2025 Michael Race, BBC. , , ,
Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs against the US, in a move that marks the beginning of a trade war between the neighbouring countries. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set out "far-reaching" tariffs of 25%, affecting 155bn Canadian dollars' worth ($106.6bn; £86bn) of American goods ranging from beer and wine, to household appliances and sporting goods. The move matches US President Donald Trump 25% levy on Canadian and Mexican imports to the US - and an additional 10% on China - over his concerns about illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Whether Biden Or Trump, US’ Latin American Policy Will Be Contemptible

January 30, 2025 John Perry and Roger D. Harris, Popular Resistance. , , , , , ,
With Donald Trump as the new US president, pundits are speculating about how US policy towards Latin America might change. In this article, we look at some of the speculation, then address three specific instances of how the US’s policy priorities may be viewed from a progressive, Latin American perspective. This leads us to a wider argument: that the way these issues are dealt with is symptomatic of Washington’s paramount objective of sustaining the US’s hegemonic position. In this overriding preoccupation, its policy towards Latin America is only one element, of course, but always of significance because the US hegemon still treats the region as its “backyard.”

Trump Attacks Colombia; President Gustavo Petro Fights Back

January 27, 2025 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , , , , ,
Donald Trump has kicked off his second administration with a very aggressive foreign policy. Trump is threatening trade restrictions and sanctions on countries around the world, including 100% tariffs on BRICS countries, which now represent 55% of the world population. The US president wants to colonize Greenland. He also vowed to take over the Panama Canal. Invoking “Manifest Destiny”, Trump is even attacking Canada and Mexico, the two largest trading partners of the United States. When Trump selected neoconservative hawk Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, it was a sign that he would be focusing his attention on Latin America

Trump’s Tariff Threats Could Destabilize The Global Economy

January 26, 2025 Michael Hudson, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , , , , , ,
Trump told the Davos Economic Forum January 23: “My message to every business in the world is very simple: Come make your product in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on earth.” Otherwise, if they continue to try and produce at home or in other countries, their products will be charged tariff rates at Trump’s threatened 20%. To Germany this means (my paraphrase): “Sorry your energy prices have quadrupled. Come to America and get them at almost as low a price as you were paying Russia before your elected leaders let us cut Nord Stream off.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Resigns

January 7, 2025 People's Dispatch. , , , ,
On January 6, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation. “I care deeply about this country and I will always be motivated by what is in the best interests of Canadians. And the fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, parliament has been paralyzed for months after what has been the longest session of a minority parliament in Canadian history,” Trudeau said as he resigned after nine years as prime minister and 11 years as the leader of the Liberal Party. Trudeau was facing a mounting cost of living crisis, dire opinion polls, and a tariff threat by the United States.

Goals Behind Trump’s Tariffs

January 4, 2025 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , ,
Donald Trump cited billionaire egghead venture capitalist Marc Andreessen to advocate for high tariffs. Trump argued that tariffs will magically replace the income tax and pay off US public debt (which is more than 120% of GDP). This is utterly false, and mathematically absurd. For Trump, tariffs are just another convenient excuse to cut taxes on the rich — which will in fact increase the US deficit, and therefore public debt. Thanks to Trump’s tax cuts during his first term, the richest billionaire families in the US paid a lower effective tax rate than the bottom half of households in the country.

China And Mexico Stand Firm In The Face Of Trump’s Tariff Threats

November 29, 2024 Pablo Meriguet, People's Dispatch. , , , , , , , , , ,
Several days ago, the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, announced his intention to impose a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian products until the arrival of migrants and drugs, especially fentanyl, allegedly from Mexico and Canada is reduced. In a post on his social network Truth Social, the incoming far-right president reaffirmed his xenophobic positions on immigration and blamed Mexico, China, and Canada for the appearance of fentanyl in the country. “As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before.

Mexico’s Leftist President Rips Trump Tariff Threat

November 27, 2024 Jake Johnson, Common Dreams. , , , ,
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday sharply criticized U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose a 25% tariff on all imported goods from Canada and Mexico, calling the proposal a potentially disastrous distraction from meaningful solutions to drug trafficking and mass migration. "Migration and drug consumption in the United States cannot be addressed through threats or tariffs," Sheinbaum, a member of Mexico's leftist Morena party, wrote in a letter to Trump. "What is needed is cooperation and mutual understanding to tackle these significant challenges."

How Trump’s Return Will Impact The World

November 11, 2024 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , , , , ,
As he prepares to return to the White House, US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed neoconservative Iran hawk Brian Hook to lead his State Department transition team. This has excited pro-Israel groups. At a September event at the Israeli-American Council, Trump proudly declared, “I was the best friend Israel ever had”. All of the likely candidates for Trump’s secretary of state and national security advisor are China hawks. These include neocons Marco Rubio, Robert O’Brien, and Mike Waltz. Three other possible choices, Ric Grenell, Bill Hagerty, and Vivek Ramaswamy are so-called “MAGA” Republicans who have distanced themselves from neoconservatism, but still share the neocons’ vehement hatred of China and would escalate tensions with Beijing.
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