The Wall Street Journal editorial board has blasted President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on U.S. allies Canada and Mexico, calling it an “economic assault” and the “dumbest trade war in history.”
Trump announced that 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico would take effect Saturday, while tariffs on Chinese goods were set at 10%. He also warned that the European Union could be next. While the full impact on American consumers remains uncertain, concerns have emerged that the tariffs could drive up prices and disrupt key industries.
Defending his decision, Trump insisted Friday that Americans had little to worry about, claiming the U.S. had a stronger economic foundation than its trading partners. “We don’t need the products that they have,” he said, adding, “We have all the oil you need. We have all the trees you need.”
The Wall Street Journal editorial board argued that Trump’s reasoning for targeting Canada and Mexico lacked substance, particularly his claim that the two countries had “enabled illegal drugs to pour into America.” The board dismissed this justification, noting that drug trafficking is a long-standing issue that tariffs will not solve.
Beyond rhetoric, the board warned of economic fallout, particularly for the U.S. auto industry and agriculture sector. Canada and Mexico have a history of retaliatory measures, strategically targeting American exports in ways that maximize political and economic impact.
The editorial pointed to past examples of countermeasures from Mexico, such as its 2009 retaliation against U.S. goods—including California grapes, Oregon X-Mas trees, and North Dakota soybeans—when the Obama administration restricted Mexican trucking access. In 2018, Mexico similarly responded to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs by imposing duties on U.S. steel, pork, cheese, and bourbon.
Notably, the board highlighted that Trump’s tariffs appear to violate the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade deal he himself negotiated and signed during his first term. The editorial warned that disregarding treaty commitments could weaken U.S. credibility in future trade negotiations.
“If a North American trade war persists, it will qualify as one of the dumbest in history,” the board concluded, suggesting Trump might claim victory and retreat if he secures minor concessions—but cautioning that prolonged tensions could severely damage U.S. economic interests.
Trump took to Truth Social Sunday morning after he signed off on 25 percent tariffs on Canada, 25 percent tariffs on Mexico, and 10 percent tariffs on China, which appear likely to set off a significant trade war. Trump hit back at critics and argued the decision was necessary because of “major” trade deficits with those countries.
“The ‘Tariff Lobby,’ headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify Countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and too many others to name, continue the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS that are allowed to so freely flow into AMERICA,” Trump posted from his Mar-a-Lago estate. “THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!”
Trump argued if companies made their products in the United States, there would be no tariffs.
“This will be the Golden Age of America!” Trump continued. “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. We are a country that is now being run with common sense — and the results will be spectacular!!!”
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4 Responses
The question is how long can we endure the “short term” pain.
To American consumers, it is a broad based sales tax that will be inflationary, causing fuel, electricity and many food items to go in price, as well as the costs of home construction to rise – and that assumes that Mexico and Canada do not introduce export taxes on natural resources to amplify the impact of the tariffs on Americans. The foreign manufacturers and American importers will just raise prices for any goods that don’t have an option for Americans to find substitutes.
Substituting for Canadian and Mexican oil will require raising the price to make pumping unprofitable oil fields profitable. Mexican fruits and vegetables can be replaced, but it will take time to grow new crops and may be a problem finding agricultural workers given restrictive immigration. The reason less expensive cars are made in Mexico rather than the US is that the high cost of American laws precludes making these cars in America. All this doesn’t take into account that Mexico and Canada can do smart retaliation (increasing tariffs only on items that compete with local goods or for which other sources exist – unlike Trump’s indiscriminate tariffs). Both Mexico and Canada also have an incentive to be very uncooperative with the US in all areas of foreign policy, and while Mexico is “neutral” in world affairs, Canada has been American’s closest ally since 1941 (and even sent significant troops to Afghanistan to help us).
Trump won in large part since Biden through stupidity caused significant inflation. Trying to be like Biden is dumb politically, and could lead to some awfully WOKE Democrats taking over the Congress after the 2026 election.
My money is Trump, not back-room elites who think they know everything but are wrong in almost everything they predict.
The oracles of the WSJ are making their predictions once more. It’s only a matter of time before American companies decide to return to the US. When that shift occurs, the oracles at WSJ will surely convey their insights in a different language—English, not Chinese.