Nov. 28 (UPI) — President-elect Donald Trump‘s proposed 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada would harm relations between the United States and Mexico and Canada, President Joe Biden said.
“I hope he rethinks it,” Biden told reporters on Thursday.
“It’s a counterproductive thing to do” and would “screw up” the nation’s relationships with its neighbors to the north and south, Biden said.
Trump on Monday proposed implementing tariffs of Mexican and Canadian goods if leaders in those nations don’t do more to stop illegal border incursions into the United States.
“Thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing crime and drugs at levels never seen before,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Right now, a caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently open border.”
Trump said on his first day in office he “will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on all products coming into the United States and its ridiculous open borders.”
He said the tariffs would stay in effect until the flow of fentanyl and other drugs cease and “illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country.”
Trump said Canada and Mexico have the power to stop drugs and illegal border crossings and he will ensure they pay a “very big price” until they do.
Leaders in Mexico and Canada already might have negated Trump’s tariff threat against that nation’s goods.
Trump on Wednesday said he talked with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and she agreed to “stop migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our southern border.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said the focus of Canadian leaders is on “Canadian jobs, securing the border and building our strong partnership with the United States.”