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US PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump is threatening to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.
The tariffs, if implemented, could dramatically raise prices on everything from gas to automobiles.
The US is the largest importer of goods in the world, with Mexico, China and Canada as its top three suppliers, according to the most recent Census data.
Trump made the threats in a pair of posts on his Truth Social site yesterday night in which he railed against an influx of illegal migrants, even though southern border crossings have been hovering at a four-year low.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” he wrote.
Trump complained that “thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” even though violent crime is down from pandemic highs.
He said the new tariffs would remain in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular, Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” [sic]
Trump also turned his ire to China, saying he has “had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail.”
“Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America,” he wrote.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington cautioned on Monday that there will be losers on all sides if there is a trade war.
“China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature,” embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu posted on X.
“No one will win a trade war or a #tariff war.”
He added that China had taken steps in the last year to help stem drug trafficking.
China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. No one will win a trade war or a #tariff war.
— Liu Pengyu 刘鹏宇 (@SpoxCHNinUS) November 26, 2024
The counternarcotics authorities of #China and the #US have resumed regular communication since the San Francisco Summit. The Chinese side has notified the US… https://t.co/1EPLyApiy9
It is unclear whether Trump will actually go through with the threats or if he is using them as a negotiating tactic before he takes office in the new year.
Arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico have been falling and remained around four-year lows in October, according to the most recent US numbers.
The Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests in October, less than one-third of the tally from last October.
Much of America’s fentanyl is smuggled from Mexico.
Border seizures of the drug rose sharply under president Joe Biden, and US officials tallied about 12,247kg of fentanyl seized in the 2024 government budget year, compared with 1,154kg in 2019 when Trump was president.
Trump’s nominee for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, if confirmed, would be one of several officials responsible for imposing tariffs on other nations. He has on several occasions said tariffs are a means of negotiation with other countries.
He wrote in a Fox News op-ed last week, before his nomination, that tariffs are “a useful tool for achieving the president’s foreign policy objectives.
“Whether it is getting allies to spend more on their own defence, opening foreign markets to US exports, securing cooperation on ending illegal immigration and interdicting fentanyl trafficking, or deterring military aggression, tariffs can play a central role.”
If Trump were to move forward with the threatened tariffs, the new taxes would pose an enormous challenge to the economies of Canada and Mexico, in particular.
They would also throw into doubt the reliability of the 2020 trade deal brokered in large part by Trump, which is up for review in 2026.
Spokespeople for Canada’s ambassador to Washington and its deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, who chairs a special Cabinet committee on Canada-US relations to address concerns about another Trump presidency, did not immediately provide comment.
Trump’s promise to launch a mass deportation effort is a top focus for the Cabinet committee, Freeland has said.
A senior Canadian official had said, before Trump’s posts yesterday, that Canadian officials are expecting Trump to issue executive orders on trade and the border as soon as he assumes office.
The official was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department and Economy Department also had no immediate reaction to Mr Trump’s statements.
Normally such weighty issues are handled by the president at her morning press briefings.
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Bernie Sanders said “abandoning working class people,” costed them the election. . “When you abandon the working men and women of America, you shouldn’t be surprised when they abandon you.”
Simon should take note.
@Michale Kane: There’s no brownie points in that from George Soros and his NGO army though.
@Michale Kane: Most of Ireland middle class tho.
Hopefully while he’s there he might get a few tips from Viktor Orban,a true leader who puts his own people first and is well able to say no to both the EU and the cancerous NGO lobby!
@Jonn: A wise decision curtail the NGOs. You’ll find an organisation called USAID behind all the ‘colour revolutions’ of the last few decades. That’s who the US government sends in when they want to regime-change a country to install ‘American Values’
@Jonn: absolutely and Poland
@sean mcnamara:
Absolutely, Orban is well aware that the leftist NGOs are the enemy within,opening the door to them is like injecting a virus into your society,as we’ve learnt to our cost in Ireland over the last twenty years!
@Jonn: No fear of that
FG FF GP days are numbered . They have talked down to and ignored the indigenous Irish people . Payback time will be 29/11/2024 .
@Jim Ryan:
I dearly wish this were true,Jim,but sadly I doubt it,the Irish sheeple will carry on obediently voting for the same old shower,and keep getting the same old results!
@Jonn: We can only live in hope that it won’t be the same as usual this time , Jonn
@Jim Ryan: Which party would you like to see in government?
@Cole Palmer: Cole , my preference is for Irish Freedom Party , National Party , Ireland First , The Irish People . I’m not a member of any political party .
@Jim Ryan: Did you see Oberfeldwebel Barrett wearing the nazi style jacket? It was down to his shins. The coat pockets were at his knees! I laughed a lot at the poor little fella. Nearly as funny as his bewildered postman pat look when he puts the military style cap on. The security goons in fleeces are perfect, though. A fast-moving chihuahua could do him serious damage…
@Jim Ryan: very important to get these out and vote
@Jim Ryan: It’s likely the Greens will get decimated and FF FG will form the next government with some independents. Sinn Fein have pretty much imploded.
@honey badger: haha, what ever you do though, don’t call him a far right nazi, nor a bewildered one, for that matter – he and his fans would get very upset
@honey badger:
You’d imagine just seeing your pin-up Kamala getting her ass handed to her on a plate by the Don would have put some manners on you, but apparently not!
@Jonn: Imagine rushing to deflect for nazi smurf! Well done, Jonn. ;)
@Jonn: It’s called democracy, people can vote for whomever they like and if people vote FG and FF back into Government, then so be it, not everyone will agree, but everyone will have to accept it.
@Jonn: right there John. FF/FG well aware how fickle tge public are. Wave a few promises like multi year pension increases and the sheep fall for it.
Is his bringing his Kamala Harris hat ?
@Michale Kane: he better get some lessons from Monica lewinsky before he heads to the Whitehouse for paddy’s day, to make up for what he said about Trump last week!!!! I hope it’s good and cheesy for the little twerp!!!
The one thing the greens got right.Roderick o Gorman announced 29th November for the election.That was after Simon Harris told him.He couldn’t wait to tell everyone as if he was the one calling it so childish just like his predecessor
Zoom call anyone?
Cabal think in.
@087 bed: What about Cobalt?
Any chance he might stay there
FFG are in trouble and they know it, they see how Americans wanted there borders protected and put the people first, our shower didn’t do that and now the price is going to be heavy, anyone you talk to has nothing good to say about ffg
Maybe it’s time to take a leaf out of USA vote and vote in S F and give them a chance I am not affiliated to any party
@The Black Horse: how’s that a leaf out of USA sfein are far far left wokies, god people never learn
@The Black Horse:
If Mary Lou can not control the clowns and worse in Sinn fein.
How could we trust her to run a country?
@The Black Horse:
Why? Sinn Fein want to flood working class areas with refugees in order to promote social unrest.
@H Woo: Sinn Fein cannot be trusted on immigration . End of .
@The Black Horse: No one can say SF we’re terrible in government, so any predictive calling out is purely speculative, where say FF have been in or around power for 100 years and well we don’t have any of the things we need to improve living standards for the electorate over the next 50 years, so there’s that. Cant vote for them tho, they want all of the middle classes money. Unless I see them build something roads, trains, etc. Then maybe.
Roll on the Election, it’s going to be a Bonfire of the Vanities.
I can’t wait to vote for FG on the 29th
I give the Greens credit for what they achieved.
Sadly they have been taken over by gender ideology and open borders movements , which will prove fatal
Hungary is a beautiful country, a safe country, with a low crime rate, for obvious reasons
A masochist fir sure. Whipped already by Trump, Harris goes again!
Couldn’t be prouder of our great leader :)
Are the poor greens whining now? Looks good and them.
Country going into a General Election, does anybody know of Cobalt is running. Surely Harris should have the courage of his convictions & name them, rather than people been mislead & voting for Cobalt. Who is Cobalt ?
@SV3tN8M4: Not naming cobalt works in the government’s favour, so it’s unlikely that they would name him now before an election. It’s leaves an element of doubt over anybody in opposition that votes against FFG agenda, NATO involvement etc.
Good to see him sticking up to fascism
@Brian D’Arcy:
Will the Shinners refuse to attend the St Patrick day celebrations in the white house next year as a protest.?
@Brian D’Arcy: Yes, Trump is shaking in his shoes!
Bye bye agenda 2030 Trump won
And European psico will be suffer
If ya sleep with dogs you get up with fleas
The greens did not give one fig about the public the tried to enshrine their policies I statutes
But now they discover they we’re just being used as the pawns
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