My Take | Why Trump tariffs have resulted in Canada and China fightback
Both countries want to cut deals with the US president, but know they must go all out to deny the White House bully a cheap and easy win
More than 50 countries have already agreed to settle with the United States after President Donald Trump declared tariffs against them. But not everyone has caved so easily. Canada and China are two noticeable cases. For different reasons, both have decided to call Trump’s bluff.
Canada was not targeted in the latest round, but that’s only because the White House had already slapped a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods and 10 per cent on energy, with some exemptions, last month. Canadians have since taken a tough stance and retaliated almost dollar for dollar.
Meanwhile, Beijing has vowed to “fight to the end” and imposed reciprocal duties, leading an angry Trump to move forward with tariffs adding up to 104 per cent, from the initial 34 per cent.
It has good reasons to act tough. Artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the South China Sea, control of the Panama Canal, trade imbalances and many more – they are all part of a multidimensional global contest.
In other words, China has more at stake than any other country, not just a potential full-blown trade war, damaging as it is.
But it’s obvious that few people, in and outside the US, support Trump’s trade war in general and against China in particular. Both the bond and stock markets, which he managed to crash, have given it the thumbs down.