[Freight Weekly] Donald Trump's Tariffs Continue to Raise Alarm

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Tariffs proposed by President-elect Donald Trump continue to raise alarm among industry members, U.S. trading partners, world leaders, and others. Take a look at what is being discussed by leaders in Canada and Mexico — and Biden’s warning.

• Lame-duck U.S. Pres. Joe Biden warned the public during a news conference on Nantucket that Trump’s Day 1 tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico could be very “counterproductive.” Biden said, "The last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships.”

• Biden’s remarks come after Trump posted to Truth Social that one of his Day 1 executive orders would apply a 25 percent blanket tariff against Canada and Mexico in a bid to supposedly stop “drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens” from crossing the country’s international boundaries—a very hard sell.

• As a response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appealed to the U.S. public to be aware that Trump’s tariffs would raise prices on the consumer, not necessarily the companies or countries Donald Trump’s plans hit. Trudeau said, “Our responsibility is to point out that he would not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States, but he would actually be raising prices for American citizens as well and hurting American industry and business.”

• Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, also warned of economic harm but also threatened retaliatory tariffs and cross-border sanctions as a clear response. However, on the day of this writing, President Sheinbaum said she had a supposedly productive meeting with Trump to avert the Day 1 tariff levies. After that chat, Trump said she agreed to “shut the border,” which isn’t truthful.

• For example, President-elect Trump posted to Truth Social that Sheinbaum “has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border.” In a post to X, Sheinbaum corrected Trump: “We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but instead build bridges between government and people.” This is the state of the negotiations right now.

• China is ready for a fight, though. During a briefing at the Ministry of Commerce, spokesperson He Yadong said that Trump’s tariffs will not solve America’s issues. Specifically, He Yadong said, “Imposing arbitrary tariffs on trading partners will not solve America's own problems,” and urged him to engage in mutual negotiations.

• Nevertheless, warnings from the industry are noteworthy, too. At the time of this writing for our readers in the United States, it is the mega shopping day of Black Friday. Black Friday is a retail tradition where major discounts are available for the most popular products, ranging from novelties to high-end game consoles.

• Axios is reporting that some retailers are so concerned about potential consumer price harm that they’re additionally marketing “pre-tariff sales.”

Bottom line: TARIFFS. TARIFFS. TARIFFS. That’s literally the point. Trump is trying to use his hard-selling tactics to get what he wants from our closest trade partners. Will it work? As we’ve covered over the weeks since the election, it probably won’t go his way.

MORE: “Auto industry may lose 17 percent of profits due to Trump’s tariff plan…”

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📰OTHER NEWS IN FREIGHT📰

👨🏼‍⚖️Jamieson Greer named U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) nominee for Trump: The president-elect continues to fill out his senior economic team with key picks like attorney Jamieson Greer, who was nominated as Trump’s pick for USTR. Greer was the chief of staff and an acolyte of Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s first USTR during his last term.

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