President Donald Trump said Sunday that Americans may feel economic "pain" from his tariffs on key trading partners, but argued it would be "worth the price" to secure US interests.
After weeks of uncertainty surrounding his threats, Trump on Saturday signed off on broad 25-percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada -- despite a regional free trade pact -- while hitting China with a 10-percent tariff in addition to levies already in place.
The announcement capped an extraordinary second week of Trump's new term, with the president facing the worst US aviation disaster in over a decade as his administration moved to drastically overhaul the government in actions decried by critics as illegal.
China, Mexico and Canada are the top three US trade partners and all have vowed to retaliate when the tariffs take effect Tuesday.
"Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!)" Trump wrote Sunday morning in all-caps on his Truth Social media platform.
"But we will Make America Great Again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid."
Analysts expect the trade war to slow US growth and increase prices, at least in the short term, something the president had resisted acknowledging after frustration over rising costs was seen as a major factor in his November 2024 election win.
Seeking to limit a spike in fuel prices, Trump has put the levy on energy imports from Canada at only 10 percent.
The president in his order cited illegal immigration and the trafficking of the deadly opioid fentanyl as reasons for the "emergency" measures.
But on Sunday he also expressed general outrage at trade deficits, which he has long viewed as signs of unfair treatment against the United States.
"The USA has major deficits with Canada, Mexico, and China (and almost all countries!), owes 36 Trillion Dollars, and we're not going to be the 'Stupid Country' any longer," he wrote.
The Wall Street Journal, whose right-leaning editorial board complained Friday that Trump was launching "The Dumbest Trade War in History," was "working hard to justify... the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA," Trump said.
The 78-year-old billionaire on Sunday visited one of his golf courses in Florida, where he traveled for a second weekend in a row since his White House return.
- '51st state' -
President Donald Trump once again called for Canada to become a U.S. state, further heightening tensions with one of his country's closest allies after imposing heavy tariffs.
While claiming the United States pays "hundreds of billions of dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada"—apparently referring to the U.S. trade deficit with its neighbor—Trump said, "Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable country."
"Therefore, Canada should become our cherished 51st state," he wrote on his Truth Social platform, claiming the move would bring "much lower taxes, far better military protection for the people of Canada—and NO TARIFFS!"
The US Census Bureau listed the country's 2024 trade deficit in goods with Canada as $55 billion.
Trump also acknowledged that Americans might feel economic "pain" from his tariffs on key trading partners, but argued it would be "worth the price" to secure U.S. interests.
On Saturday, Trump finally signed off on threatened 25-percent tariffs on neighboring Mexico and Canada -- despite sharing a free trade pact -- and hit China with a 10-percent tariff in addition to already enacted levies.
The president had vowed since before his inauguration to take such action, claiming the countries were not doing enough to halt illegal immigration and the trafficking of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the United States.
In imposing the tariffs, which are set to begin Tuesday, Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The move provoked immediate vows of retaliation from all three countries, while analysts warned that the ensuing trade war would likely slow US growth and raise consumer prices over the short term.
"Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!)," Trump wrote in all-caps on his Truth Social platform, a day after signing off on tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China over illegal immigration and drug trafficking concerns.
"But we will Make America Great Again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid," he added.
The president and his advisors had previously resisted acknowledging that tariffs could raise US consumer prices, after frustration over rising costs was seen as a major factor in his November election victory over Democrat Kamala Harris.
Apparently seeking to limit a spike in fuel and electricity prices, Trump put the levy on energy imports from Canada at only 10 percent.
'Ripoff of America'
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed Saturday that his country would hit back with 25 percent levies of its own on select American goods worth Can$155 billion (US$106.6 billion), with a first round on Tuesday followed by a second one in three weeks.
Leaders of several Canadian provinces have already announced retaliatory actions as well, such as the immediate halt of US liquor purchases.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum meanwhile said she had directed her economy minister to "implement Plan B," which includes yet-unspecified "tariff and non-tariff measures."
On Friday, the right-leaning editorial board of the Wall Street Journal newspaper blasted Trump's tariffs in a piece titled "The Dumbest Trade War in History," saying, "American consumers will feel the bite of higher costs for some goods."
Trump clapped back on Sunday, saying: "The 'Tariff Lobby,' headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify... the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS."
He has long decried US trade deficits as a sign of other countries taking advantage of Americans.
"THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!" said Trump, who began his Sunday with a visit to one of his golf courses in Florida.
He has also repeatedly threatened trade actions against the European Union. A spokesperson for the bloc vowed Sunday that it would "respond firmly to any trading partner that unfairly or arbitrarily imposes tariffs."
with AFP
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