President Donald Trump speaks to press members in the Oval Ovale Blank Office on January 30, 2025.
Kent Nishimura for the Washington Post | Getty images
Donald Trump confirmed that he would impose prices of 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada from February, after threats published weeks earlier.
The prices covered on the products of the countries will come into force on Saturday, February 1.
However, addressing journalists from the oval office on Thursday evening, Trump told journalists that his administration was not yet determined to determine whether oil imports would be included in politics, noting that the decision had been pinned to the issue To know if the two nations “treat us correctly” and “if the oil is properly at a price.”
“The oil is not going to do with it as far as I am concerned,” he said. “We are going to take this determination probably this evening on oil. Because they send us oil, we will see – it depends on their price.”
March contracts for Bully – The global reference for oil prices – was slightly higher at 8:06 am London time, merchant about $ 76.92 per barrel.
Trump told journalists that imminent functions were being used “for a number of reasons” and “may or may not increase over time.”
“The number one is the people who spilled in our country so horribly and so much,” he said. “The number two is the fentanyl drug and everything that has entered the country, and the number three are the massive subsidies that we give in Canada and Mexico in the form of deficits.”
“I will put the 25% price in Canada and separately 25% on Mexico, and we will really have to do it because we have very big deficits with these countries,” he added.
Threats to react in kind
Representatives of Mexican and Canadian governments were not immediately available for comments when they were contacted by CNBC, although the two nations previously committed to responding to prices with their own measures.
“If there are American prices, Mexico would also increase prices,” said President Claudia Sheinbaum said said at a press conference last week, according to the Reuters news agency, adding that it would trigger price increases for American consumers.
Mexico and Canada are the United States larger business partners. In 2020, during his first mandate, Trump replaced the long-standing free trade agreement of the three countries in North America (NAFTA) with its American-menada (USMCA) agreement, which was presented to the time as the fact that A better deal for American companies.
On Friday, Sheinbaum told journalists that Mexico “would wait with a cool head” before making decisions about how to respond to Trump’s pricing regime.
“We will always defend the dignity of our people, respect for our sovereignty and an equal dialogue without subordination,” she said, according to Reuters. “We are prepared and we maintain this dialogue.”
Addressing “Squawk on the Street” of CNBC earlier this month, the Minister of International Commerce of Canada Mary Ng said that “everything is on the table” when it comes to responding to American rates, Refusing to exclude export taxes on energy exports to the United States.
“If you are going to put prices on Canada, what it really will do is make things more expensive for the Americans,” she said.
However, prices also strike consumers in Canada and Mexico. Earlier this week, for example, Canada Bank’s political decision-makers warned that such measures in the United States could create persistent inflation in the country.
Both Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar Bordered above against the US dollar on Friday morning, recovering the losses observed overnight.
Peso was up 0.3% at 8:18 a.m. in London, while the Canadian dollar won 0.2% against the greenback.
$ 21 billion per month
Carl Weinberg, founder of High Frequency Economics, told CNBC on Friday “Squawk Box Europe” that “figures are large” with regard to potential economic collateral damage.
“We have about a Billion of commerce dollars [U.S.] Imports in Mexico and Canada have combined, “he said.” 25% of $ 1 billion represents $ 250 billion, and that’s about what will get out of the US economy to pay these prices. “”
He said it is about $ 21 billion a month.
“It will be a plus to lower the deficit, it is the good news here-but it will be released from the pockets of people,” he told CNBC, warning that American growth is also likely.
“It will have an impact in February and March this quarter, then in every month of the next quarter,” said Weinberg. “We are going to get about six tenths of percent of GDP growth in the first quarter, then another tenth of percent in the second quarter.”