Trump: Tariffs Will Be 'A Little' Painful for Americans

WASHINGTON, MONDAY - New tariffs on all imports from Canada, Mexico and China imposed by the United States will take effect on Tuesday (4/2/2025). According to US President Donald Trump, Americans will feel the "pain" of the price increases, but this is all worth it for the ambition of reviving the domestic economy.

"Will there be pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not). But, we will make the US great again. All this pain will be worth it," Trump tweeted on his Truth Social platform account.

Economists in the US predict that in the short term there will be a spike in the price of goods. In fact, one of the reasons Trump won the November 2024 presidential election was because the American people were fed up with inflation that caused the price of goods to rise since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trump said he would discuss the tariffs with Canada and Mexico on Monday (2/3/2025). "I'm going to talk to Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau tomorrow morning, and I'm going to talk to Mexico tomorrow morning," he told reporters Sunday (2/2/2025) evening local time or Monday morning Indonesian time.

"I don't think it's going to be anything very dramatic. They owe us a lot of money, and I guarantee you they're going to pay it," Trump said.

Trump on Wednesday (1/2/2025) announced the imposition of a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Mexico and Canada. Even though the US, Mexico, and Canada are bound by the North American Free Trade Agreement or USMCA.

In addition to raising tariffs of 25 percent on goods from Mexico and Canada, Trump raised tariffs on China by 10 percent from existing tariffs. As a result, Chinese imports now have an additional cost of 60 percent.

Analysts say there is hope for negotiations, especially with Canada and China. There are several reasons why Trump is waging a trade war with Mexico and Canada. The two countries are immediate neighbors that sandwich the US in the middle.

First, Trump is upset about the trade deficit. Mexico is the US's number one trading partner, followed by Canada. The trade balance with Canada in the energy sector alone has the US at a deficit of 10 percent. However, data published by TD Economics says the US is balancing that deficit by exporting more cars to Canada.

The second reason, Trump blames Mexico and Canada for allowing illegal immigrants to flood the US. According to Trump, immigrants are the cause of crime, poverty, and the decline of the US. He also expressed his intention to imprison illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes at Guantanamo Bay Prison.

The third reason is about drug smuggling, especially fentanyl, which he accused neighboring countries and China of.

China, through a government statement, said it would fight the unilateral tariff increase at the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to them, the US is violating global regulations. The solution must be sought through open dialogue and increased cooperation.

For Beijing, taking the case to the WTO also shows their good faith. In this context, China is the party that plays by international rules and not haphazardly.

China's trade surplus with the US will reach 1 trillion US dollars in 2024. Therefore, China is more careful in dealing with this problem because they do not want to lose a large market.

Regarding Trump's accusation that China is allowing fentanyl smuggling, China's Foreign Ministry said fentanyl is a U.S. problem. "We have also conducted successful drug raids with the U.S. in China," the statement said.

Instead, Canada and Mexico decided to retaliate against Trump. Moreover, Trump did something that Canadians considered insulting. Trump tweeted on Truth Social that the US spends a lot of money subsidizing Canada and Canada should be grateful to be offered to be the 51st US state.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a retaliatory tariff increase of 25 percent on US goods. The tariffs are imposed on imports worth a total of $106 billion. The goods are equivalent to 17 percent of US exports to Canada.

Several Canadian provinces have banned imports of alcoholic beverages from the US. In fact, at an ice hockey game between Canada's Toronto Raptors and the US's Los Angeles Clippers, Canadian fans booed the US national anthem before the game.

"We are also considering non-tariff retaliatory measures. These include critical minerals, energy procurement, and cooperation programs," Trudeau said.

The energy sector is one of Canada's imports that was not hit with a 25 percent tariff by Trump. Instead, the energy sector was hit with a 10 percent tariff starting February 18, 2025.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also vowed to retaliate against the US. However, there was no further word on Mexico's strategy.

Mexican billionaire and banker Ricardo Salinas Pliego posted on X. He suggested that the Mexican government should not retaliate by imposing tariffs on US products. "Think of the poor. Don't let them bear additional costs just to get back at Trump," he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Charles Johnson, Chairman of the American Aluminum Association issued an official statement to Trump. Increasing tariffs on imported aluminum from Canada is killing the US domestic industry. A similar thing was also expressed by David McCall, Chairman of the United Steelworkers.

"There are 850,000 American workers in the mining, metalworking, etc. sectors that are part of the United Steelworkers. They will be affected by tariffs," he said, as quoted by Business Insider. (AFP/Reuters)