Why Trump is digging in his heels on huge tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China

President Donald Trump is digging in his heels on tariffs — imposing sweeping duties on goods from Mexico, Canada and China on Saturday.The tariffs will likely raise the price of everything from Super Bowl avocados to gasoline and cars, from maple syrup to iPhones, experts warned.The backlash was instantaneous Mexico and Canada — who import more American goods than any other country — quickly responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own.Canadians, in particularly, seemed to be taking the news personally — giving a Bronx cheer to the “Star Spangled Banner” ahead of NHL games across the country Saturday night, and again at a Toronto Raptors home game on Sunday.Trump isn’t backing down.“This will be the golden age of America! Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!).

But we will make America great again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid,” Trump, 78, wrote on Truth Social Sunday in all caps.Citing a national emergency over their failure to curb the flow of deadly drugs and illegal immigrants into the US, Trump declared a 25% tariff would be imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico, along with a 10% tariff on imports from China.“We have big deficits, as you know, with all three of them.And in one case they’re sending massive amounts of fentanyl, killing hundreds of thousands of people a year, with the fentanyl.

And in the other two cases, they’re making it possible for this poison to get in,” Trump said in the Oval Office.“The extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency,” a White House statement said of Trump invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which empowered him to enact the tariffs.The statement said Trump’s “bold action” in imposing the trade levies — dismissed by many during the presidential race as campaign bluster — was intended to hold the nations accountable.But, he also suggested they...