We speak with longtime trade policy expert Lori Wallach about President Donald Trump's move to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China — the three largest trading partners of the United States. It has sent global stocks tumbling and raised fears of more inflation. Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on most imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% on goods from China, set to take effect Tuesday (After our broadcast, Mexico announced Trump had paused the new tariffs on Mexico for a month). Energy resources from Canada will carry a lower 10% tariff. Canada and Mexico have vowed to enforce retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., upending decades of economic integration under free trade agreements. Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on the European Union. Wallach says that while tariffs can be an effective tool as part of a larger economic package, Trump's approach is likely to do more harm than good, even on his own stated goals of curbing immigration and drugs. "We certainly don't want to hold on to the old, devastating neoliberal trade agenda, but the random tariffs on Mexico and Canada … aren't going to get you the outcome you want," says Wallach, director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project and board member of the Citizens Trade Campaign.
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