Why Trump blinked before imposing his ‘beautiful’ tariffs on Canada and Mexico Trump has teased two of the US’s biggest trading partners with levies but has moved the goalpost at least three times in two weeks.
Then, with hours to spare, after Canada and Mexico each promised that a big round number of personnel (10,000, give or take) would staff their respective borders with the US, and made some relatively vague commitments to strengthen security, Trump kicked the can down the road for a month.
And while Trump claims to be in no rush to pick up the phone, a key component of the tariffs on China – which would have made sure they were charged on shipments of less than $800 from the country, closing a longstanding loophole – was quietly delayed, ostensibly for administrative reasons.
Hours earlier, Mexico had announced a series of measures to shore up its border, prompting the White House to hastily postpone the imposition of 25% tariffs on all its goods; Canada would announce similar measures, and receive the same reprieve, later that day.
Many economists have gone a little further, warning of higher prices, weaker growth and – for the package of duties on Canada, Mexico and China alone – an average tax increase of more than $800 per US household in 2025, according to the Tax Foundation.
