Trade networks in North America are under stress after Canada and Mexico promised to raise import duties on goods from the United States in response to tariffs from the same.
Though President Donald Trump promotes tariffs as an antidote to trade deficits and shrinking domestic industry, the budding trade war in North America has little to do with trade. Washington has accused its international neighbors of not doing enough to combat drug cartels and human traffickers, and that failure has had harmful spillover effects on the United States.
As a result, Trump has demanded Canada and Mexico crack down on cartels and illicit drug makers or suffer a 25% tariff on all exports to their number one trading partner, except for Canadian energy, which will be under a lesser 10% tariff. The tariffs, originally set to go into effect this week, are already being delayed.
Talks over the tariffs began…
