Just days after using his prime-time address to a joint session of Congress to tout his tariffs on Canada and Mexico, President Donald Trump has found himself in the middle of a humiliating situation as he walks back those very tariffs.
In his speech on Tuesday, Trump hailed tariffs and looming trade wars with China, Mexico, and Canada as a surefire pathway to economic success.
“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it's happening, and it will happen rather quickly. There'll be a little disturbance. We're okay with that. It won't be much,” he said.
But less than 48 hours later, Trump announced Thursday that he postponed the tariffs on most Mexican goods after speaking on the phone with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Despite Trump’s bravado, Sheinbaum said they “had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results.”
Just a few hours later, Trump caved once more, signing an executive order granting almost identical concessions to Canada.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration was discussing plans to exempt automakers from Canadian tariffs after a devastating Fox Business report that featured the owner of an auto dealership explaining that Trump’s tariffs would increase the cost of a car by $20,000. This isn’t the first time that Trump, an avid fan of Fox, has made a policy decision based on a segment from the network.
And on Thursday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced in a CNBC interview that Trump was going to concede on his tariffs.
“It’s not likely to be just the automakers. I think it’s likely that it will cover all USMCA compliant goods and services,” he said.
“USMCA” is the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement that was signed in 2018 and enforced in 2020.
Trump’s cold feet on his tariffs comes on the heels of a terrible few days for the stock market. In reaction to Trump’s tariffs, the Dow average fell 1,300 points in just two days as the market began assessing how consumers will deal with massive price hikes.
For all of Trump’s false bravado, the leaders of China, Mexico, and Canada immediately responded to his tariffs either with tariffs of their own or future plans for retaliatory tariffs.
“Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator. Make that make sense,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a Tuesday press conference.
Trump’s trade war with China during his first term failed, triggering a farmer bailout. Now just weeks into his second term, he has proven that he didn’t learn a thing from his past mistakes.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with Donald Trump’s order to lift tariffs on Canada.
Campaign Action