Trump admits Americans will feel a “little pain” as a result of his trade war
As the only president to leave office with fewer American jobs than when he was sworn in, Donald Trump is the worst jobs president in American history. Over the weekend, he committed to continuing his abysmal economic record by waging an unnecessary trade war with the country’s top trade allies, threatening the global economy, American businesses, and working-class families he promised to put first.
Trump’s order to impose massive tariffs against Mexico, Canada, and China drew rebukes from America’s top trade partners in the form of Canada issuing 25% retaliatory tariffs on up to $155 billion in U.S. imports, including alcohol and fruit. Likewise, Mexico announced they’d respond to Trump’s trade war with tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico’s economic interests. China, facing 10% tariffs from the Trump administration on Chinese goods imported into the U.S., threatened to impose tariffs on U.S. goods in response.
Trump’s trade war is already sending shockwaves through the global economy and sparking uncertainty among U.S. trade allies in Asia and the U.K.
In America, consumers and businesses are bracing for the trade war’s negative impacts, including hiring prices, fewer exports, and lower wages:
- For small businesses in Texas, the Mexican economy is a top import market, and Trump’s trade war sparks fears of rising prices that hurt the very American businesses they are supposed to protect. Latin Business Association Chairman Ruben Guerra declared the moment presented “an advantage now for other countries to become Mexico’s largest trader.”
- In New York, the state is bracing for increased energy costs as the state imports 10% of its energy from Canada. Trump’s birth state also exports nearly $30 billion worth of goods to Canada, and trade with Mexico supports 328,000 jobs in New York State.
- And in Alaska, officials in neighboring Yukon Territory, Canada, are warning that a new 10% tariff on China, Alaska’s biggest international trading partner, accompanied by a 25% on imports from Canada, Alaska’s fourth-largest trading partner, will make the cost of living more expensive for Alaskans.
Trump’s tariffs are expected to wreak chaos on the American economy in general:
- The U.S. imports roughly four million barrels per day of Canadian oil, 70% of which is processed by refiners in the Midwest. Tariffs on those imports mean higher costs for making finished fuels like gasoline for midwestern consumers.
- Analysts predict that the average price of a new car could cost $3,000 more due to Trump disrupting the integrated automotive production industry in North America. The Detroit Regional Chamber said the tariffs “will have detrimental effects to our automotive industry in Michigan, the Great Lakes Region and across the continent.”
- The retaliatory tariffs from Mexico, Canada, and China have international trading markets fearing losses and a sharp contraction in global trade in the near future.
The morning after disrupting the economic well-being of America’s trade allies, business owners, and consumers, Trump admitted Americans would feel “some little pain” as a result of his horrible trade war, but ultimately doubled down on his economy-wrecking idea.
Published: Feb 3, 2025