NEW YORK, February 3. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on imports of Mexican goods could push Mexico into an economic recession, thus spurring more Mexicans to migrate to the US, Bloomberg wrote.
Trump’s tax hike will only intensify the migration crisis on the southern border, not put an end to it as he vowed. When supply chains are upset, prices skyrocket. Given that trade between Mexico, Canada and the US is so closely intertwined, the agency added, disrupting these chains will result in chaos, high inflation rates, and significant job losses. Moreover, countermeasures by Ottawa and Mexico City could hit Washington hard in view of the large amount of American products exported to those countries.
Trump’s tariff measures will do little to stop drug trafficking or reduce the US trade deficit. What they will do is increase the risk that more citizens of Mexico will try to cross illegally into America, as well as lead to a rise in prices and higher unemployment in the US, Bloomberg said.
Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada (10% on Canadian energy), and a 10% additional tariff on China, explaining that the move would curb illegal immigration and the inflow of deadly drugs to the country, including fentanyl, which he said are killing Americans.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to the US tariffs by saying that the US was "shooting itself in the foot," warning that the US economy would suffer tremendously as a result of them. That said, she acknowledged that the tariffs would also have a big impact on Mexico, because many companies operating in the country will be forced to rethink their presence there.