President Joe Biden on Thursday criticized President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he’ll implement 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, saying that the feedback have been “counterproductive.”
“I hope he rethinks it, and I feel it is a counterproductive factor to do,” Biden mentioned, responding to a reporter’s query about his response to Trump’s announcement.
“The very last thing we have to do is start to screw up these relationships,” he added. Biden’s feedback got here throughout his Thanksgiving Day go to to a fireplace station in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Trump mentioned in a put up to Truth Social on Monday that one in all his first government orders could be to hit Mexico and Canada with a blanket 25% tariff. Mexico and Canada are the second and third prime suppliers of products to the U.S., in line with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The U.S. imports essentially the most items from China.
“This Tariff will stay in impact till such time as Drugs, particularly Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens cease this Invasion of our Country!” Trump mentioned within the put up.
The president-elect’s transition crew didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Biden’s remarks.
While on the marketing campaign path, Trump steadily promised to implement extra tariffs, particularly on China. Some economists, nevertheless, have criticized the potential of steep tariffs, arguing that the fee would in the end be handed on to customers.
Trump mentioned in a Wednesday put up to Truth Social that he had a “great dialog” with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, saying, “She has agreed to cease Migration by means of Mexico, and into the United States, successfully closing our Southern Border.”
But in Sheinbaum’s account of the dialog, she mentioned that she famous that Mexico’s place is “to not shut borders.”
“In our dialog with President Trump, I defined to him the excellent technique that Mexico has adopted to deal with the migration phenomenon, respecting human rights,” she mentioned in Spanish on X. “We reiterate that Mexico’s place is to not shut borders however as an alternative construct bridges between authorities and folks.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned in a put up to X on Wednesday that he had spoken together with his nation’s premiers about commerce with the U.S.
“Our focus: Canadian jobs, securing the border, and constructing on our robust partnership with the United States,” he mentioned.