WASHINGTON: Mounting trade wars between the United States and its largest economic partners deepened on Tuesday as huge US tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China kicked in, sparking swift retaliation from Beijing and Ottawa. Trump had announced — and then paused — blanket 25 per cent tariffs on imports from major trading partners Canada and Mexico in February, accusing them of failing to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking. He pushed ahead with them on Tuesday, citing a lack of progress on both fronts.
Canada responded with its own retaliatory 25 per cent tariffs, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said there was no justification for the US move and vowed to hit back with duties of its own. Trump also inked an order on Monday to increase a previously imposed 10 per cent tariff on China to 20 per cent — piling atop existing levies on various Chinese goods. Beijing condemned the "unilateral imposition of tariffs by the US" and said it would impose 10 and 15 per cent levies on a range of agricultural imports from the United States. — AFP
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