President Donald Trump has signaled that he intends to enact 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico after a 30-day pause expires on March 4.
“The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Trump said at a White House press conference on February 24, the Associated Press reports.
Trump had previously paused planned tariffs on Canada and Mexico in early February, after Canada agreed to implement a C$1.3 billion border security plan, and Mexico vowed to reinforce its own border with 10,000 National Guard troops. Despite that, Trump reiterated his belief at the February 24 press conference that the U.S. has “been taken advantage” of by its two closest trade partners, while claiming that his proposed tariffs will help the U.S. “make up a lot of territory” to fix that supposed imbalance.
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The morning before Trump’s most recent remarks, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum seemed optimistic that a deal could be reached in time to avert the tariffs for a second time in as many months.
“On all of the issues there is communication, and what we need is to complete this agreement,” she said. “I believe we’re in a place to do it.”
It remains unclear if Trump’s brinkmanship will lead to another 11th-hour deal, but as conflict resolution specialist Dr. Jeremy Pollack noted in an analysis for Forbes, “the most successful negotiations often involve saving face and avoiding the worst consequences.” A full-blown trade war between the U.S. and its North American allies would also have wide-ranging impacts on all parties involved, given that the U.S. relies on Mexico and Canada for a range of imports, including crude oil, lumber and auto parts.
