US drags Canada, Mexico to impose tariffs on China

Yesterday, Reuters quoted US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent encouraging Canada to follow Mexico's lead in imposing tariffs on China like the US.

According to Minister Bessent, Mexico has proposed imposing import taxes on Chinese goods, but has not disclosed whether it will be at 10% or 20%.

Previously, US President Donald Trump on February 4 imposed a 10% tax on all goods from the East Asian country, before deciding to double it to 20% from March 4.

Container ship at Yangshan port in Shanghai (China) in February

"I think it would be a good thing if Canadians did the same, because in a way we can build a stronghold in North America against the flood of Chinese imports," Bessent said. Responding to Reuters, the Chinese Embassy in Washington warned that the US's unilateral tariff increase had seriously violated World Trade Organization rules and caused losses to both the US and China.

Trump decides to tax neighbors, Canada says it will 'respond strongly'

The Canadian and Mexican governments have not commented on the US Secretary's statement. At the end of his visit to Washington, Canadian Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said on February 28 that the country would act quickly to tighten border security at the request of the US. On the same day, Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said he had met with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, but did not provide details of the discussion.

AP news agency yesterday quoted observers predicting that the US's imposition of additional tariffs as well as non-discriminatory reciprocal tariffs and implementation of a plan to drastically cut federal government staff could have a negative impact on domestic consumer sentiment.

Data released by the US Department of Commerce on February 28 showed that personal consumption expenditures in January fell 0.2%, or $30.7 billion, in January. Most analysts forecast that the US economy would grow in the first quarter, but at a slower pace than before, from 2.25% to 1.25%.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/my-loi-keo-canada-mexico-ap-thue-trung-quoc-185250301232210213.htm