What will be the impact of a North American trade war?

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Donald Trump’s new global war – which was launched on Saturday with a barrage of customs duties against Canada, Mexico and China – paves the way for the economic war that will shake markets and industries.
What happened and why?
Washington unveiled a 25 percent tariff on most imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 1 percent on imports from China. Canadian oil beaten at a rate of less than 10 percent. Duties will enter into force from Tuesday.
Trump said the procedures were in response to the “main threat” that migrants and drugs flow in the United States across its borders with Canada and Mexico.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced 25 percent revenge definitions on American goods worth $ 155 billion ($ 107 billion).
He said that “long -term definitions” will strike us beer, wine, bourbon, fruits, fruit juices, perfumes, clothes, shoes, home appliances, sports equipment, wood and plastic.
Mexico announced that it will impose retaliatory definitions on American goods without specifying the size or goals. China has not yet clarified how it would respond.
The three countries are among the largest importers of the United States. Meanwhile, American companies exported $ 763 billion of goods to the three countries in the first 11 months of 2024 – 17 percent of the total exports went to Canada, 16 percent to Mexico and 7 percent to China.
What are the industries that will strike?
Car makers, food and construction producers-and each depend on largely on border trade-between industries that are likely to be more affected.
the American auto industryEspecially the traditional “three adults” of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, manufacturing is spread over all three countries on the continent. American car suppliers also make goods in Mexico, from seats to axes. About 16 percent of the US -made car is derived from the work done in Mexico or Canada.
Car makers who have operations in Mexico and Canada will face either cost absorption or price raising for consumers. Daniel Royceka, an analyst at Bernstein, said that the import tax could give a competitive boost to South Korean and Japanese car makers selling in the American market.
Food imports from Canada and Mexico will be severely affected. The United States imported more than $ 45 billion of agricultural products from Mexico in 2023, according to the US Department of Agriculture, including strawberries, berries, tomatoes and beef. Other $ 40 billion from Canada, including beef, pork, grains, potatoes and misery.
Building materials will also face pressure, with about a third of soft wood used in the United States imported from Canada. Canada and Mexico together represent more than five imports of American cement.
“A lot of increase in the costs of customs tariffs to American consumers will be transferred,” said James Knightley, the chief international economist in Engi.
What was excluded?
The Canadian oil industry was rescued on the heaviest Trump tariff, as the White House sought to reduce the inflationary impact on American car drivers.
The United States relies on raw imports to feed its refineries, with about 40 percent of refined crude in the country coming from abroad – from that, 60 percent of Canada and 11 percent of Mexico. There will be a significant rise in the cost of raw imports in the pump.
Chit Thompson, head of American fuel manufacturers and petrochemicals, the refining industry group, said he hoped to be a “quickly” deal to end all the customs tariffs on the industry “before consumers felt influenced.”
On Saturday, the European Union was not mentioned, but Trump said the previous day that it was “absolutely” planning to target the mass in the future.
How long will this continue?
The White House said that the definitions will remain in place. [immigration and drug] The crisis is diluted. ”But analysts said they are likely to face a challenge in court.
Trump used the 1977 International Economic Forces Act (IEPA), the first time that the law has been used to apply fees to countries.
“This step is not only an aggressive tariff in size and scale, but it is also an aggressive assertion of the president’s authority to impose these definitions,” said Greta Bish, a partner at the law firm Wiley Ryan and a former commercial consultant in the United States government. “Once again, he dismantled a new ground and tests the limits of the commercial authorities delegated by Congress.”
Trump threatened to apply the wide customs tariff to Mexico in 2019 on immigration issues, round from IEPA, but in the end she did not use it. Richard Nixon introduced IEPA, trading with the enemy law of 1917, to implement the 10 percent definitions on commercial partners in the United States.
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2025-02-02 05:00:00