NEW YORK, February 3. /TASS/. The trade duties announced by US President Donald Trump against Canada, Mexico, and China have not yet taken effect but have already begun to negatively impact the lives of Americans, according to an editorial in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
"President Trump conceded Sunday that there may be ‘some pain’ from his sweeping tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but they will eventually lead to a new 'GOLDEN AGE.' Nice of him to promise a glorious future because the pain is already unfolding, and the tariffs won’t even take effect until Tuesday," the authors say.
The publication's editorial board is convinced that such a "hammer blow to Mexico and Canada" shows that "no country or industry is safe." "This will cause friends and foes to recalibrate their dependence on America’s market, with consequences that are hard to predict," the article noted.
Trump previously criticized the WSJ for the publication calling the imposition of duties by him the "dumbest trade war in history." In response, the newspaper editors said they "appreciate Mr. Trump's attention," but believe their definition is quite accurate.
"How this helps the US isn’t apparent, so, yes, ‘dumbest trade war’ sounds right, if it isn’t an understatement," The Wall Street Journal said in response to critical statements by Trump.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order, applying tariffs against goods from Canada, China and Mexico. The document states that duties of 25% are imposed against imports from Mexico and Canada (10% on Canadian energy products). Additional tariffs of 10% are imposed against Chinese goods. According to Trump, this effort was made because of the "extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl" that kill US citizens.