U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks from the Rose Backyard of the White Home in Washington, U.S., November 26, 2024.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
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 had 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 hearth station in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Trump mentioned in a post to Truth Social on Monday that one in every of his first govt 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., based on the Workplace of the U.S. Commerce Consultant. The U.S. imports probably the most items from China.
“This Tariff will stay in impact till such time as Medication, specifically Fentanyl, and all Unlawful Aliens cease this Invasion of our Nation!” Trump mentioned within the submit.
The president-elect’s transition staff didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Biden’s remarks.
Whereas on the marketing campaign path, Trump often promised to implement extra tariffs, particularly on China. Some economists, nevertheless, have criticized the possibility of steep tariffs, arguing that the associated fee would finally be handed on to shoppers.
Trump mentioned in a Wednesday post to Reality Social that he had a “fantastic dialog” with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, saying, “She has agreed to cease Migration via Mexico, and into the US, successfully closing our Southern Border.”
However in Sheinbaum’s account of the conversation, she mentioned that she famous that Mexico’s place is “not to close 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 said 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 post to X on Wednesday that he had spoken along 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 US,” he mentioned.