Using the excuse that Mexico fails to stop the flow of undocumented immigrants to the United States, US President Donald Trump threatened to increase tariffs on all products imported from the neighboring country by 5 percent from June 10.
It is not the first time that the United States bullied others with punitive tariffs. However, this time it has gone even further, extending its tariff war beyond economic field.
Yet the question is: do these reckless and capricious measures have anything to do with the migration problem?
“Social problems are not resolved by taxes or coercive measures,” Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told Trump in an open letter.
The abuse of tariffs is part of a changing US foreign policy, which is shifting towards a more aggressive and unilateral approach.
Although many US entrepreneurs, analysts and think tanks have warned of the disastrous consequences of the abusive use of tariffs, the US government seems to believe that its policies will help solve its domestic and external problems.
Yet the reality is that these policies are only to further complicate problems, distort international trade and add uncertainty to the global economy.
After tariffs were raised on Chinese products, US companies and consumers are paying for the rising costs, while the US stock exchanges fluctuated sharply amid fear of an escalating trade war. Washington is also threatening to slap punitive levies on cars from European countries and Japan, raising fears of countermeasures from its allies.
Trump said he wants “fair trade.” Yet in reality, what he really wants is the kind of trade that can maximize American interests. As for the legitimate interests of others, it seems that the trade hawks in the White House do not care.
Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Friday that the US tariffs move was “unfair” and the treatment “makes no economic sense for anyone,” given that Mexico is the US main trade partner.
Beyond all doubt, the US-style “fair trade” is not what the international community needs or can accept.
