Yesterday, I made a post about Trump and the tariffs he enacted. Of course, with Trump, 24 hours feels like forever—everything changes depending on his mood. He initially issued tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, but later postponed them for a month because they reached an agreement. But let me dive into it more.
MEXICO
Let’s start with Mexico, where Trump announced a 25% tariff on imports from the country, which was supposed to take effect today. But guess what? Canceled!
You might be thinking, Wait, what? Canceled?
Well, what has Trump been demanding from Mexico all along? To stop drug trafficking and illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. In response, Mexico promised to deploy 10,000 members of its National Guard to combat these issues.
So, the measure has been postponed, and both countries have started negotiations, led by the U.S. Secretary of State.
Could this have been handled better? Yes. Trump could have simply picked up the phone, called the Mexican President, and said, ‘I want you to send more troops to the border to secure it.’ I believe she would have done it without all this mess. Of course, in the end, he still achieved that goal.
CANADA
Trump also issued 25% tariffs to Canada.
Unsurprisingly, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau retaliated with 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods, including beer, wine, clothing, and shoes.
However, Chrystia Freeland, a potential successor to Trudeau, proposed an even more aggressive response—targeting Tesla, one of Trump’s key allies, led by Elon Musk.
You might be wondering, What could they possibly do to Tesla?
Impose a 100% tariff on Tesla cars! This would effectively double their price in Canada, making them unaffordable and putting massive pressure on the Trump administration.
Of course, those tariffs were also postponed for 30 days because he wanted the same thing from Canada—more troops at the border. This could have been achieved with just a phone call, but in the end, he still achieved his goal.
CHINA
Trump also Issued 10% tariffs to all imports from China , China of course retaliated with tariffs on Liquefied natural gas, coal, farm machinery and other products from the United States. They also launched antimonopoly investigation into Google.
APPLE
Even though these tariffs target foreign countries, American companies operating there will also feel the heat.
One of them is Apple , which relies heavily on production in China—where Trump announced a 10% tariff.
But Apple seems well-prepared for this.
How?
According to Bank of America, 80% of iPhones sold in the U.S. can now be produced outside China, mainly in India.
This means Apple can significantly reduce its exposure to tariffs while staying competitive.
Will the US win here? No India will.
TAIWAN
What about Taiwan?
Seeing the impact of the tariffs, Taiwan’s government announced a new initiative to help local companies move production to the U.S.
This primarily affects tech giants like Foxconn, which runs major assembly plants in Mexico.
After the announcements, Foxconn’s stock plummeted 8%, but Taiwan sees this as an opportunity to strengthen ties with the U.S. and reduce its reliance on China.
That will probably be a win - win situation because Taiwan need the military protection from the US.
Posted Using INLEO