PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump on Sunday defended his decision to impose sweeping tariffs on the United States’ top three trading partners, even as he acknowledged there may be “some pain” caused by the economic fallout.
Trump took to Truth Social Sunday morning after he signed off on 25 percent tariffs on Canada, 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and 10 percent tariffs on China, which appear likely to set off a significant trade war. Trump hit back at critics and argued the decision was necessary because of “major” trade deficits with those countries.
“The ‘Tariff Lobby,’ headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify Countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and too many others to name, continue the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS that are allowed to so freely flow into AMERICA,” Trump posted from his Mar-a-Lago estate. “THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!”
Trump argued if companies made their products in the United States, there would be no tariffs.
“This will be the Golden Age of America!” Trump continued. “Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!). But we will make America great again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid. We are a country that is now being run with common sense — and hte results will be spectacular!!!”
Trump in a subsequent post claimed the U.S. does not need any Canadian products and suggested Canada “should become our Cherished 51st State.” Canadian officials have repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. could annex Canada.
The president on Saturday signed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China that are set to go into effect on Tuesday. Canadian energy imports will only be tariffed at 10 percent. The orders Trump signed do not contain exceptions, and they include a clause that warns Trump may increase the tariffs if each country retaliates.
The move led to swift responses from all three nations.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday night that Canada would impose 25 percent tariffs on more than $100 billion of U.S. goods. Trudeau’s likely successor, Pierre Poilievre, called Trump’s tariffs “unjust and unjustified” and called for a “dollar-for-dollar” response.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a post to X in Spanish that her team was working on a response that included measures to defend her country’s interests, though specific steps were not immediately clear.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said it would file a legal case against the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Experts have repeatedly warned that tariffs could lead to higher costs that companies will pass onto consumers.
The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank, estimated Trump’s tariffs announced Saturday would result in what amounts to an average tax increase of $830 per household in the U.S.
Democratic lawmakers have decried Trump’s decision as one that will increase prices despite his campaign pledge to bring down inflation. Business groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have also criticized the tariffs.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) warned in a statement late Friday that certain tariffs on Canadian imports “will impose a significant burden on many families, manufacturers, the forest products industry, small businesses, lobstermen, and agricultural producers.”
