US Tariffs on Mexico till Immigration Stops
POTUS Donald Trump is threatening to place further tariffs on neighbouring Mexico, using it as a tool to try and force Mexico to curb the flow of immigrants heading into the US. The 5% tariff on goods coming from Mexico from June 10 will “gradually increase until the illegal immigration problem is remedied, at which time the tariff will be removed.” This will impact the current trade agreement between the two countries that has replaced NAFTA – experts are now saying it looked unlikely that the new version of NAFTA will be ratified this year.
Meanwhile China may find it concerning given that the US has now implemented fresh tariffs on a country just weeks after striking a trade deal, although the legality of the tariffs has been questioned. Asian auto stocks have been the first to feel the impact, tumbling on Friday’s markets to reflect the fact that Mexico is used as a production base by many Japanese and other Asian car manufacturers. Nissan dropped 5.31%, Toyota 2.85% and Mazda 7.13%.
It will be interesting to see if China and Mexico explore a unified approach to tackling a burgeoning trade war, or take a unilateral approach.
Avengers Crushes Box-Office Records