Since his return to the White House, President Donald Trump has started a tit-for-tat trade war between the US and the rest of the world. From imposing a 25 percent tariff on aluminum and steel imports from around the world, to tariffs on countries like China, Canada and Mexico, and to a threatened 200 percent tariff on French champagne. What is the latest in Trump’s trade war?
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00:00We've been ripped off for years and we're not going to be ripped off anymore.
00:03Donald Trump's explosive return to the White House
00:06has sparked a trade war between the United States and the rest of the world.
00:15Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again.
00:19Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business and worse for consumers.
00:25This is a very dumb thing to do.
00:30Since the 12th of March, a 25% tariff has been imposed on all steel and aluminum
00:35imported to the U.S., intended to protect American industry by making foreign competition
00:40more expensive. Currently, around half of the U.S.'s steel and aluminum is imported.
00:45The tariffs will likely balloon the cost of producing goods, from home appliances to
00:49automobiles and cans used for drinks. Experts say this could raise consumer prices down the road.
00:54Jobs are at stake. Price is up. Nobody needs that
00:59on both sides, neither in the European Union nor in the United States.
01:07Beyond steel and aluminum, Trump has unleashed tariffs on major trading partners, including
01:11China, Canada and Mexico. In March, the U.S. president raised a 10% blanket tariff he imposed
01:18on Chinese products to 20%, in an aim to reduce the U.S.'s $300 billion trade deficit with China.
01:23The order came after Trump scrapped a customs exemption for goods valued under $800,
01:28a vital part of the business model for low-cost platforms like Timu and Xi'an.
01:45Mexico and Canada, the U.S.'s main trading partners after China,
01:48have faced months of will-he-won't-he on tariffs.
01:51Trump has justified the levies on his neighbors with allegations that they're not doing enough
01:54to curb illegal immigration and the smuggling of the deadly drug fentanyl into the U.S.
02:13During his presidential campaign, Trump defended tariffs as a means of funding the federal budget
02:18and reducing the U.S. trade deficit. Now as president, he's used them above all as a means
02:23of putting pressure on states. Trump has already imposed 25% tariffs on some Mexican and Canadian
02:29goods, and says sweeping levies on all imports from these two countries, which have been twice
02:34delayed, are set to come into force on 2 April.
02:48As in hockey, Canada will win.
02:51In addition to the tariffs, Ottawa has had to respond to Trump's repeated statements
02:55that he wants to make Canada the 51st state.
02:59To be honest with you, Canada only works as a state. We don't need anything they have.
03:04Keeping O Canada, the national anthem, I love it. I think it's great. Keep it.
03:10But it'll be for the state, one of our greatest states. Maybe our greatest state.
03:14Trump's statements have fueled strong anti-U.S. hostility north of the border,
03:18where the American anthem now regularly gets booed at sports competitions.
03:22Additionally, multiple Canadian provinces have banned the sale of U.S. alcohol
03:26as part of a broad national retaliation against Trump's tariffs.
03:29Mexico says it's waiting until 2 April to decide what measures it will take.
03:34April 2nd is going to be Liberation Day for America.
03:37We've been ripped off by every country in the world, friend and foe.
03:45The European Union could also soon see its exports to the U.S.
03:48subject to 25% tariffs, potentially posing challenges for automakers
03:52and pharmaceutical companies who are among Europe's largest exporters of goods across the Atlantic.
03:57The European Union was formed in order to screw up the United States,
04:00that's to support the Soviet. And they've done a good job of it, so now I'm president.
04:05European products like wine, champagne and spirits face the threat of a 200% tariff
04:10that Trump says is in retaliation to the EU's plans to ban the export of U.S. alcohol.
04:15Trump says is in retaliation to the EU's planned 50% tariff on American whiskey.
04:20The move would triple the price of even an entry-level bottle of champagne for U.S. customers
04:24to around $150.
04:27The EU, which has a $50 billion trade surplus with the U.S.,
04:31has vowed to retaliate with proportionate countermeasures.
04:34There'll be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that. It won't be much.
04:45It won't be much.