‘Dumb’: Canada, Mexico blast historic Trump tariffs, threaten retaliation

America’s closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico, excoriated President Donald Trump for slapping historic tariffs on items from their international locations.

Trump’s broad tariffs went into impact on Tuesday morning, together with elevated duties on items from China, a transfer that prompted a swift retaliation from Beijing in addition to threats from officers in Canada and Mexico.

Hours after the commerce warfare broke out, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated on Tuesday afternoon that Trump might quickly supply Canada and Mexico a pathway to reduction from tariffs positioned on some items coated by North America’s free commerce settlement.

“I believe he’s going to work one thing out with them — it’s not going to be a pause, none of that pause stuff. However I believe he’s going to determine: you do extra and I’ll meet you within the center a way and we’re going to most likely [be] asserting that tomorrow,” Lutnick instructed Fox Enterprise.

Items getting into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada will carry a 25% tariff, whereas these from China shall be topic to a ten% improve on present tariffs, in line with the White Home. U.S. tariffs are at their highest stage since 1943, Yale’s Funds Lab stated.

On Feb. 27, Trump alleged that illicit medicine similar to fentanyl had continued to enter the U.S. by way of Mexico and Canada regardless of agreements reached final month to handle the problem.

Since September, practically all fentanyl seized by the U.S. got here by way of the Southern border with Mexico, in line with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, or CBP, a federal company. Lower than 1% of fentanyl was seized on the Northern border with Canada, CBP discovered.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sharply criticized the tariffs, calling them a “dumb” coverage that doesn’t “make sense.”

The explanation for the tariffs is predicated on a false allegation about Canada as a serious supply of medication getting into the U.S., Trudeau added.

“It’s an instance of [Trump] probably not having the ability to see what it’s that he desires, as a result of even the excuse that he’s giving for these tariffs as we speak of fentanyl is totally bogus, utterly unjustified [and] utterly false,” Trudeau stated.

Trudeau additionally slammed Trump for warming relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin in discussions concerning the Russia-Ukraine warfare. “They’ve chosen to do that whereas appeasing Putin,” Trudeau stated.

In response, Canada slapped a 25% retaliatory tariff on $30 billion value of products. Tariffs on a further $125 billion value of merchandise will take impact in 21 days, Trudeau stated.

“We won’t again down from a combat,” Trudeau added, saying Canadians would punish the U.S. with their pocketbooks.

“We’re going to cease consuming American merchandise,” Trudeau stated, pointing to public anger spotlighted at current sporting occasions throughout which Canadians booed the U.S. nationwide anthem. “We’re going to proceed to boo the U.S. anthem. We aren’t booing the America folks — simply this unjust coverage.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who leads the nation’s most populous province, stated his authorities might finish a contract with Elon Musk-owned satellite tv for pc web service Starlink and shut off energy to the U.S.

“We’ll retool for brand new markets and new clients,” Ford stated.

Hours after Trudeau’s remarks, Trump vowed to impose further tariffs in response to Canada’s countermeasures.

“Please clarify to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he places on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will instantly improve by a like quantity!” Trump stated in a put up on Truth Social.

In the meantime, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum additionally slammed the tariffs and introduced plans to impose retaliatory tariffs.

Sheinbaum rebuked remarks made by Trump on Monday alleging that “huge quantities of fentanyl” have entered the U.S. from Mexico. Sheinbaum cited CBP knowledge exhibiting that seizures of fentanyl from Mexico declined 50% between October 2024 and January 2025.

“There isn’t any motive or cause, nor justification that helps this resolution that may have an effect on our folks and our nations,” Sheinbaum stated. “We’ve stated it in several methods: cooperation and coordination, sure; subordination and interventionism, no.”

Sheinbaum stated she’s going to converse over the cellphone with Trump on Thursday, and if no deal could be reached, she’ll announce the tariff and non-tariff measures at a rally on Sunday.

China’s response

Inside minutes of the brand new U.S. tariffs taking impact, China unveiled on Tuesday its preliminary response by inserting further 10% to fifteen% tariffs on imported U.S. items, like hen, wheat, soybeans and beef.

These duties shall be on high of comparable tariffs imposed again through the first Trump administration’s commerce warfare in 2018. A few of these tariffs are already at 25%, although Beijing issued some waivers because of the 2020 “part one” commerce deal.

The brand new Chinese language tariffs are set to return into impact for items shipped out subsequent Monday, March 10.

“President Trump continues to reveal his dedication to making sure U.S. commerce coverage serves the nationwide curiosity,” the White Home stated in a statement.

Inventory costs tumble

A see-saw buying and selling session on Tuesday ended with shares having fallen markedly.

The Dow Jones Industrial Common dropped 670 factors, or 1.5%; whereas the S&P 500 fell 1.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ticked down 0.3%.

Shares of retail large Goal fell 3% on Tuesday, following an earnings launch from the corporate that cited “tariff uncertainty” as a possible obstacle for the enterprise. Walmart’s inventory value dipped about 2.5% on Tuesday, whereas Amazon shares inched down 0.6%.

Shares of Finest Purchase plummeted greater than 13%. The sharp drop got here after Finest Purchase CEO instructed analysts that value will increase are “extremely seemingly” because of the tariffs.

Greater prices for automotive manufacturing might additionally pose a problem for U.S. automakers, lots of which rely on a provide chain carefully intertwined with Mexico and Canada.

Shares of Ford tumbled practically 3% on Tuesday, whereas Normal Motors dropped about 4.5%. Stellantis — the mother or father firm of Jeep and Chrysler — noticed shares decline greater than 4%.

United Autoworkers, which represents staff at Ford, Normal Motors and Stellantis, applauded the tariffs as a method of stopping carmakers from changing U.S. staff with low-paid staff overseas.

“Firms have been driving a continuous race to the underside by killing good blue-collar jobs in America to go exploit some poor employee in a foreign country by paying poverty wages,” UAW stated in a press release to ABC Information.

“Tariffs are a strong device within the toolbox for undoing the injustice of anti-worker commerce offers,” UAW added. “We’re glad to see an American president take aggressive motion on ending the free commerce catastrophe that has dropped like a bomb on the working class.”

ABC Information’ Zunaira Zaki and Anne Laurent contributed to this report.