US President Donald Trump's threats to raise tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and the EU will lead to the destruction of relations with them and the loss of American influence in the world. This opinion is expressed in the article of the magazine Foreign Affairs.
In his assessment, “by undermining the trust of allies through indiscriminate economic aggression, Washington risks finding itself isolated“. Trump's tariff measures could strengthen the positions of Russia and China, the publication believes.
Canada and US allies in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region should develop relations with other countries in the fields of security, energy and agriculture "without any involvement from Washington" in order to reduce the impact of the US administration's decisions on their economies.
On February 1, Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on goods from Canada, China and Mexico. According to the document, 25% tariffs will be imposed on imports from Mexico and Canada (10% on Canadian energy resources). Additional tariffs of 10% are also being introduced on goods from China. The US leader later postponed the introduction of new tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico for a month after talks with the leaders of these countries.
Trump is also considering the possibility of imposing a 10% tariff on all imports from the EU. However, there is still no full agreement on this issue within the US leader's administration.
On February 4, US tariffs on imports from China came into effect. In response to these measures, the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued a decree according to which, from February 10, 2025, the country will introduce tariffs on imports of US energy resources. Oil will be subject to a 10% tariff, coal and liquefied natural gas - 15%. In addition, 10% tariffs have been imposed on US supplies to China of large-capacity vehicles, pickup trucks and agricultural machinery.