Donald Trump will not impose new tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico on his first day in office, according to reports from Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
Instead, U.S. media reports say the incoming U.S. president plans to issue an executive order that will direct federal agencies to investigate accusations of unfair trade and currency practices.
Global News has not independently confirmed those reports.
Trump, who takes office on Monday, has pledged tariffs of 10 per cent on global imports, 60 per cent on Chinese goods and a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian and Mexican products, duties that may upend trade flows, raise costs and draw retaliation.
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Reuters reported that Trump’s executive will direct agencies to assess China’s compliance with its 2020 trade deal with the U.S., as well as the status of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, Reuters reported.
John Bolton, who served as Trump’s adviser from April 2018 until September 2019, said in an interview with The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson that the president-elect’s threat poses a “serious danger that we are going to fall inadvertently into a trade war.”
“I think everyone should understand a trade war is not in anyone’s interest,” he said.
Shortly after he was elected, Trump threatened to impose a sweeping 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods coming into the U.S. unless Canada tightened border security. The same threat was also made towards Mexico.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has said that if Trump goes ahead with the plan, it would start the “biggest trade war between Canada and U.S. in decades.”
— With files from Reuters and Global News’ Sean Previl
— More to come
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