President Trump has stood by his election promises and introduced tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and 10% tariff on China starting today (1st February).
In separate exchanges with reporters, when President Trump was asked if tariffs will be introduced on Europe next, he said “absolutely”, repeating statements he made at Davos that the continent has treated the US “unfairly”. Leavitt said more tariff details will be released today.
A trade dispute could have lasting geopolitical ramifications with key energy partners, according to the Atlantic Council.
“Chinese refineries might use the uncertainty of US policy to grab market share at US exporters’ expense,” writes David Goldwyn, President of Goldwyn Global Strategies, and Chairman of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center’s Energy Advisory Group. “Mexico, the largest recipient of US oil and gas exports, could also look to liquefied natural gas (LNG) to hedge against the reliability of the US supply.”
Tariffs on Canadian electricity and advanced energy exports might hamstring the US artificial intelligence (AI) development complex and military capabilities. In 2023, the US imported 33 Twh of electricity from Canada.
“But the short-term gains earned by threatening or imposing tariffs could lead to harmful direct and second-order consequences,” added Goldwyn.
“A number of factors need to be weighed, and it would be useful if the administration paused major actions until its appointees were in place so they can provide strategic thoughts and input before precipitous actions are taken.”
