Why Did Trump Just Start a Trade War with Our Neighbors?
Donald Trump holds up an executive order, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, that he signed in the Oval Office on January 31, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
The president imposes a 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada—for no good reason.
If the Constitution were intended to prevent anything, a sudden shock to this country’s economy, along with the disruption of long-established treaty alliances and executive agreements, delivered on one man’s say-so, would seem to be high on the list.
Yet that is what happened on February 1, when President Trump ordered a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico and 10 percent on China. To keep energy costs from spiking unduly, Trump limited the tariff to 10 percent on Canadian energy imports (though not, for some reason, on Mexican oil).
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