Trump admits trade war could hurt US consumers

As China, Canada and Mexico respond to punitive tariffs

- JOSH BOAK

Donald Trump has admitted that US citizens could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China.

The trade penalties that Mr Trump signed on Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida caused a mix of panic, anger and uncertainty, and threatened to rupture a decades-old partnership on trade in North America while further straining relations with China.

“Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!),” Mr Trump said in a social media post. “But we will make America great again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid.”

His administration has not said how high that price could be, or what improvements would need to be seen in stopping illegal immigration and the smuggling of fentanyl, to merit the removal of the tariffs that Mr Trump imposed under the legal justification of an economic emergency. The tariffs will begin from tomorrow.

The Chinese government said it would take steps to defend its economic interests and intends to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organisation.

In a statement yesterday, China’s ministry of commerce expressed its strong opposition to the tariffs, describing them as a setback to the trade relationship between the two nations. The ministry pledged to introduce “corresponding countermeasures”, although it did not provide specific details on what these would entail.