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President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose new tariffs on its two closest neighbors, as well as China, is prompting both outrage and diplomacy from all countries involved. Leaders in China, Mexico and Canada say that if the incoming Trump administration goes ahead with the taxes, which range from an additional 10% on China and 25% for Canada and Mexico, it would not be industry footing the bill, but consumers, both here and abroad.
Coming up, we'll hear from the Mexican ambassador to the United States about how Trump's threats have been received there. But first, we get reactions from Canada and China. NPR's John Ruwitch is covering the response from China, but we'll start with Jackie Northam on how Canadian officials are reacting.
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: In Canada, Ontario's premier, Doug Ford, probably summed up the national reaction best, saying Trump's threat to slap a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods felt like a family member was stabbing you in the heart. Not only do the two countries share the longest undefended border. They're also each other's largest trading partners, with nearly $3 billion of goods and services crossing the border each day. Now there's a fear Canada could be thrown into a deep recession.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Trump shortly after he threatened tariffs. Trudeau said they talked about the challenges and how they can move forward.
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PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU: This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on, and that's what we'll do. One of the really important things is that we be all pulling together on this - the Team Canada approach, putting aside partisanship. There's work to do, but we know how to do it.
NORTHAM: That's if Trudeau's political rivals are willing. There were calls in Canada to retaliate. If Trump goes through with the tariffs, it could have a boomerang effect, driving up the costs in the U.S. in the auto sector, steel and aluminum, and gas prices. Canada supplies more than half of U.S. crude imports. Trudeau has called a meeting tonight with the country's premiers to discuss how to handle the threat from its closest neighbor. Jackie Northam, NPR News.
JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE: On the campaign trail, Trump threatened tariffs of 60% or more on all Chinese goods. His latest proposal is for, quote, "an additional 10%." And it comes with a twist. It's not about imbalance or unfair trade practices. It's punishment for what he says is Beijing's failure to follow through on its promises to curb the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. China is the main source of precursor chemicals used by cartels to make the drug.
The ambiguity over tariffs sent Chinese government spokespeople scrambling from Beijing to Washington. In a written statement, China's foreign ministry said China has some of the strictest drug control policies in the world and it's the only country to classify all fentanyl-related substances as controlled. The statement said there have been, quote, "significant results" in China-U.S. counternarcotics cooperation.
Beijing is willing to continue that cooperation on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect, the statement said, and the U.S. should cherish that goodwill. During his first presidential term, Trump imposed tariffs of up to 50% or more on more than $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. Beijing responded in kind with its own tariffs on U.S. products. Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu warned that no one will win a trade war or a tariff war.
John Ruwitch, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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