Recent Updates #4

In this blog post, I would like to revisit and update a topic I have discussed in a previous post, because the topic is extremely relevant once again. This topic is the much-debated issue of tariffs. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on China; as mentioned in my previous post, and has recently been discussing doing the same with Mexico. Trump had now developed a plan to impose tariffs on Mexico on June 10^th, 2019 starting at 5% and going all the way up to 25%. Before these tariffs could be imposed, there was an apparent last-minute deal that took place between President Trump and Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign minister, to suspend the implementation of these tariffs. This deal stated that the United States would not impose the tariffs in exchange for Mexico attempting to deter Central American migrants and having stricter regulations. However, this “deal” is making people question Trump’s motivation.

According to an article in The Economist titled, “Mexico rejoices after averting Donald Trump’s tariffs threat”, it discusses how Trump feels as if the deal was also a “win” for himself too. It states, “But he is not the only president doing a victory lap. Mr. Trump wants to turn Mexico into the wall that he promised but has so far failed to build.” It also lists the statistic that in May, around 144,000 people tried to cross the southern border of the United States, which was double the number in February. People feel as if forcing Mexico into a deal to deter Central American migrants was all part of Trump’s plan.

However, if this plan did not work, as mentioned in my last post, tariffs create an even bigger problem and ultimately decrease trade. Tariffs should not be used as a threat and can most definitely make problems worse.

Many people have made statements that they believe Trump will continue making these threats to get countries to form agreements with him that benefit the United States. If this is indeed the case, it could have major negative effects on our economy and our relationships with other countries around the world. It may lower trade because relationships are being harmed and other countries will be less likely to want to enter trade agreements with us. In an economy, countries must play fair and not make others feel inferior to one another, which seems to be the case with the plans President Trump is imposing.

Sources:

Mexico Rejoices after Averting Donald Trump's Tariffs Threat. 2019. The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, www.economist.com/the-americas/2019/06/09/mexico-rejoices-after-averting-donald-trumps-tariffs-threat.