00:00In a blow to the U.S.'s top three trading partners,
00:03the U.S. has confirmed it's imposing steep tariffs
00:06on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China.
00:09Can you clarify whether those will actually be going
00:11into effect tomorrow, or whether there might be
00:14some lead time?
00:14Yes.
00:15And are those, they will be going into effect tomorrow?
00:17Correct.
00:17From February 1st, the U.S. will impose 25% tariffs
00:22on imports from Canada and Mexico,
00:24along with 10% on Chinese goods.
00:28It comes after a flurry of tariff threats
00:30made by U.S. President Donald Trump
00:32during his presidential campaign.
00:34He says the action will help curb national security issues
00:38such as illegal migration and the smuggling of chemicals
00:41used for making the drug fentanyl.
00:44We'll be announcing the tariffs on Canada and Mexico
00:49for a number of reasons.
00:51Number one is the people that are poured into our country
00:54so horribly and so much.
00:56Number two are the drugs, fentanyl and everything else
00:58that have come into the country.
00:59And number three are the massive subsidies
01:02that we're giving to Canada and to Mexico
01:05in the form of deficits.
01:06The 10% levy on Chinese goods is also meant to punish China
01:10for its alleged role in the fentanyl trade.
01:13While lower than the 25% tariffs Trump slapped on China
01:17in his first term, it's also a signal that U.S. aims
01:20to go hard on its competitors.
01:23But there are concerns such tariffs will raise prices
01:26for everyday American consumers.
01:29If he actually puts on tariffs,
01:30you're gonna get a price impact.
01:32We calculate 1.2% increase in average prices.
01:37And that may sound small, but hey, inflation is a big story.
01:41Inflation is why the federal cut its interest rates
01:45and that's not happy news.
01:47And there'll be price spikes in particular goods
01:50like the others I mentioned.
01:52I should have mentioned also fruits and vegetables,
01:54mangoes, avocados, lettuce, tomatoes.
01:57And this is just the beginning.
01:59After a meeting with chip giant NVIDIA CEO
02:02Jensen Huang on Friday,
02:03he said tariffs on computer chips are coming.
02:07Trump has previously threatened tariffs
02:09of up to 100% on semiconductors,
02:12a move meant to boost chip manufacturing in the U.S.
02:16and one that would impact Taiwan's semiconductor industry,
02:19prompting Taipei to try and show up its ties with Washington.
02:23With Trump's duties set to disrupt
02:25nearly 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars in North American trade,
02:30it's a signal to all countries
02:32that the U.S. will not go easy on partners or competitors.
02:36Adil Prar and Ryan Wu for Taiwan Plus.
Comments