US President Donald Trump on Sunday acknowledged that Americans may experience economic “pain” due to his administration’s tariffs on key trading partners but insisted it would be “worth the price” to safeguard US interests. Trump had on Saturday signed off on a 25-percent tariff on imports from neighbouring Mexico and Canada, despite both countries being part of a free trade pact with the United States. Additionally, he imposed a 10-percent tariff on Chinese goods, adding to levies already in place.
“Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!)” Trump wrote in all-caps on his Truth Social platform on Sunday morning. “But we will Make America Great Again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid.”
In an apparent attempt to mitigate the impact on fuel and electricity prices, Trump limited the tariff on Canadian energy imports to 10 percent.
However, escalating tensions further with Canada, Trump in a separate social media post renewed his call for the country to become a US state. “Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country,” Trump claimed, referring to what he called “hundreds of billions of dollars” in subsidies paid by the US to Canada.
“Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State,” he wrote, adding that the move would result in “much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada — AND NO TARIFFS!”
Since before his inauguration, Trump had vowed to take such measures, arguing that the countries were not doing enough to curb illegal immigration and prevent the trafficking of fentanyl into the US, news agency AFP reported. The tariffs, set to take effect from Tuesday, were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The move prompted immediate retaliation threats from all three affected nations, with analysts warning that the trade war could slow US economic growth and raise consumer prices in the short term.
The US president and his advisors had previously resisted acknowledging that tariffs could raise consumer prices. According to AFP, analysts suggest that concerns over rising costs played a significant role in Trump’s November election victory over Democrat Kamala Harris.
According to the US Census Bureau, the country’s trade deficit in goods with Canada stood at $55 billion in 2024.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed on Saturday that his government would respond with 25-percent tariffs on select American goods worth Can$155 billion (US$106.6 billion). The first round of tariffs will be implemented on Tuesday, followed by a second phase in three weeks.
Additionally, leaders of several Canadian provinces announced immediate retaliatory measures, including halting purchases of US liquor.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also responded, directing her economy minister to “implement Plan B,” which includes unspecified “tariff and non-tariff measures.”
China threatened to take “necessary countermeasures” against the new tariffs and file a complaint against the US at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
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‘Dumbest Trade War in History’: Wall Street Journal Slams Trump Tariffs, US President Hits Back
On Friday, the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal criticised Trump’s move in an article titled “The Dumbest Trade War in History,” arguing that American consumers would suffer due to higher prices on goods.
Trump hit back on Sunday, accusing the “Tariff Lobby,” which he claimed was led by the “Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal,” of trying to defend what he called the “decades-long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS.”
“THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!” Trump declared, before heading to one of his golf courses in Florida on Sunday morning.
Trump has also repeatedly threatened trade actions against the European Union. According to AFP, a spokesperson for the bloc said on Sunday that the EU would “respond firmly to any trading partner that unfairly or arbitrarily imposes tariffs.”
