Tariff wars on the horizon

The US President-elect Donald Trump is taking an aggressive foreign policy and trading posture. And the approach is beginning to yield results, not only from Rawalpindi but also from its major trading and political allies. The countries are taking the threats seriously and are scurrying to meet the demands of the incoming US administration. To ‘Make America Great Again,’ the US President-elect is bullying North American Free Trade Agreement members, Canada and Mexico, with the threat of 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from these countries into the US. The president-elect is of the view that fentanyl and illegal immigrants are flowing into the US from the porous borders of Canada and Mexico. The two countries need to stop their flow. Otherwise, he will go ahead with his tariff proposal, Mr Trump insists.