Trump Implements Tariffs Impacting Trade with Canada Mexico and China
President Trump has initiated tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China, resulting in concerns among U.S. industries. In response, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs, while U.S. stock futures dropped.
U.S. President Donald Trump launched a salvo of tariffs on Saturday. Imports from Mexico and Canada will face a 25% duty, while those from China will be subject to a 10% tariff. Energy resources from Canada will face a lower 10% tariff. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on the same day retaliatory tariffs of 25% against $155 billion in U.S. goods. Industry leaders in the U.S. have expressed concern over those tariffs.
U.S. stock futures tumbled on Monday morning as traders digested the implications of tariffs. Prices of U.S. crude climbed nearly 2% and the international Brent benchmark rose more than 1%. However, analysts think oil prices could fall in the long run if tariffs trigger a global recession. Bitcoin fell around 3.9% to $94,174.61 as of 2:20 p.m. Singapore time, though one strategist thinks a tariff war would be "amazing" for the cryptocurrency.
U.S. markets retreated Friday, giving up earlier gains, on news of Trump's impending tariffs. The S&P 500 lost 0.50%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.75% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.28%, but all indexes ended January in the green. Asia-Pacific markets suffered losses on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 and South Korea's Kospi index dropped more than 2% each. Taiwan semiconductor stocks TSMC and Foxconn, which trades as Hon Hai Precision Industry, slumped after a DeepSeek-induced tech sell-off last week.
China's factory activity slowed in January, according to the Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index. The seasonally adjusted reading came in at 50.1 for January, lower than December's 50.5 -- which was also the forecast of a Reuters poll. Domestic demand improved, while new export orders fell for a second straight month, according to the survey.
Blanket tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China mean that no goods imported from those countries will be spared from increased costs. However, these U.S. companies, which have manufacturing chains worldwide or rely heavily on imports, will be dealt the heaviest blow.
