United States President Donald Trump announced broad tariffs on major US trading partners Canada, Mexico and China, claiming a “major threat” from illegal immigration and drugs—a move that sparked promises of retaliation.
Canadian and Mexican exports to the United States will face a 25 percent tariff starting Tuesday, although energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10 percent levy.
Goods from China, which already face various rates of duties, will see an additional 10 percent tariff.
As this developed, Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FBA) president Robert Young weighed in on the recent decision by President Donald Trump to increase tariffs on imported goods from Mexico, Canada, and China.
While the move is seen as a strategy to address concerns related to drug cartels, migration, and trade imbalances, Young emphasized that it is unlikely to have a significant immediate impact on Philippine exports to the US.
“There is no rationale for the US to impose similar tariffs on the Philippines. If they did, they would risk running out of supply for essential goods in their stores, which would ultimately harm their economy,” he said.
According to Young, the cost of manufacturing goods such as undergarments or T-shirts in the US is significantly higher compared to countries like China, Bangladesh, or the Philippines.
“Just to produce one basic undergarment in the US would be nearly eight times more expensive than in countries like China or the Philippines. Can you imagine the cost of a T-shirt in the US being $12, while it would cost as little as $2 to produce the same product in Vietnam or Bangladesh?” Young explained.
“The US is highly reliant on imports from these countries, and imposing tariffs would only escalate the cost of living for American consumers,” he added.
Trump’s orders on Saturday also suspended exemptions allowing low-value imports from the three countries to enter the US duty-free.
The announcement threatens upheaval across supply chains, from energy to automobiles to food.
Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in imposing the tariffs, with the White House saying “the extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency.”
The aim is to hold all three countries “accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country,” the White House added.
China’s commerce ministry said in a statement it would take “corresponding countermeasures” and file a claim against Washington at the World Trade Organization.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that her country would impose retaliatory tariffs.
Sheinbaum said she had told her economy minister “to implement Plan B that we have been working on, which includes tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico’s interests.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who spoke with Sheinbaum, separately said his country would hit back with 25 percent levies of its own on select American goods worth Can$155 billion (US$106.6 billion), with a first round on Tuesday followed by a second one in three weeks.
“We’re certainly not looking to escalate. But we will stand up for Canada, for Canadians, for Canadian jobs,” he said, as he warned of a fracture in longstanding Canada-US ties.
British Columbia Premier David Eby announced that his province would specifically retaliate against “red” US states led by members of Trump’s Republican Party.
On Sunday, the finance minister of Japan—a major US trade partner—said they were “deeply concerned about how these tariffs could affect the world’s economy.”
Trump has repeatedly expressed his approval of tariffs as a policy measure, and has signaled that Saturday’s action could be the first volley in further trade conflicts to come.
This week, he also pledged to impose future duties on the European Union.
He has also promised tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, oil and gas.
“Tariffs are a powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest,” the White House said.
“The tariff action announced today makes clear that our friends, neighbors and Free Trade Agreement partners are in the line of fire,” said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former US trade negotiator.
“The move today is an opening salvo on the tariff front,” she told AFP.
Economic integration between the United States, Mexico and Canada—who share a trade pact—means stiff tariffs will have “a strong and immediate impact” in all three countries, she said. with AFP