Here's what will get more expensive

[struggle4progress]

By Alicia Wallace and Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN
Published 8:44 PM EST, Sat February 1, 2025

The action, which is expected to take effect on Tuesday, includes a 25% duty on all imports from Mexico and most goods from Canada (there’s a 10% carve-out for energy-related items such as crude oil), and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods imported into the United States ...

Mexico and Canada supply a significant share of several key food categories. For example, Mexico is the largest supplier of fruit and vegetables to the US, while Canada leads in exports of grain, livestock and meats, poultry and more.

Agricultural products from Mexico and Canada, in particular, could become more expensive for consumers, as grocery retailers operate on thinner profit margins than most industries. With little room to absorb higher tariff costs, the grocers may have to pass them on to shoppers ...

Last year, the US imported $46 billion of agricultural products from Mexico, according to USDA data. That includes $8.3 billion worth of fresh vegetables, $5.9 billion of beer and $5 billion of distilled spirits ...

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/01/economy/trump-tariffs-mexico-canada-china-increased-costs/index.html

[struggle4progress]

1. Mexico vows retaliation

By David Alire Garcia and Ana Isabel Martinez
February 1, 202511:58 PM ESTUpdated 31 min ago

MEXICO CITY, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Saturday ordered retaliatory tariffs in response to the U.S. decision to slap 25% tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico, as a trade war broke out between the two neighbors.

In a lengthy post on X, Sheinbaum said her government sought dialogue rather than confrontation with its top trade partner to the north, but that Mexico had been forced to respond in kind ...

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexican-president-orders-retaliatory-tariffs-against-us-2025-02-02/

[struggle4progress]

2. Canada, Mexico and China slam tariffs

Feb. 1, 2025, 9:46 PM EST / Updated Feb. 2, 2025, 12:27 AM EST
By Megan Lebowitz


... U.S. allies Canada and Mexico said that they would implement their own tariffs in response to Trump's, a move that signals further economic upheaval among the close trading partners. China, a U.S. competitor, did not mention retaliatory tariffs or other specific measures but said it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization and enact "necessary countermeasures" ...
... Trudeau announced Saturday night that Canada would respond to Trump's decision to enact a 25% tariff on Canadian exports to the U.S. by implementing a 25% tariff against $155 billion in U.S. goods. Trudeau did not specify whether the $155 billion in American goods was the products' worth in Canadian or U.S. dollars. $155 billion in Canadian dollars would be about $106 billion in U.S. dollars.

Trudeau said during the Saturday evening news conference that the tariffs on American goods include "immediate tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods as of Tuesday," the same day the U.S. is set to begin collecting tariffs on Canadian goods. He said that the rest of the tariffs will come in about three weeks "to allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives."

"Like the American tariffs, our response will also be far reaching and include everyday items such as American beer, wine and bourbon, fruits and fruit juices, including orange juice, along with vegetables, perfume, clothing and shoes," Trudeau said. "It'll include major consumer products like household appliances, furniture and sports equipment, and materials like lumber and plastics, along with much, much more" ...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trudeau-retaliatory-tariffs-canada-us-trump-rcna190314

[LudwigPastorius]

3. Just when Americans need massive amounts of tequila to get through the next 4 years....

[SheltieLover]

4. Like all abusers, shitstain seeks to isolate our country, his victim

[sheshe2]

7. Great analogy.

[SheltieLover]

8. 1st thing abusers do: isolate victim.

Gawd how I loathe him & his ilk.

[sheshe2]

9. Me too.

Isolate and abuse. Beat them down.

[SheltieLover]

10. Yup.

[newdeal2]

5. I think everything will get more expensive

If there’s a suitable alternative that’s cheaper, demand will surge for that and companies will eventually raise prices there too because they can.

[hvn_nbr_2]

22. Not only that. Greedflation redux too.

The greedmeister corporations will gouge on everything, whether it has anything to do with the tariffs or not.

[msongs]

6. not mexico's job to police the US side of the border or stupid americans choosing to use drugs nt

[KT2000]

11. Canada - lumber

besides building homes, rebuilding will take a hit. Someone else posted that their home insurance increased because the cost of rebuilding increased. This will be a big increase for lumber and likely everything else it takes to build a house.

[RainCaster]

12. construction labor costs are going up too

In many places, the framing crews are Hispanic. They will be stepping back from that as ICE harasses them more. That leaves the work for more expensive Anglo framing crews, who will get overbooked, then overpriced.

Same can be said for insulation, roofing, painting and any other skilled group involved in home construction.

[KT2000]

13. OMG

we will be at a standstill.
That already happened when our border patrol got out of control and ran off the legal immigrants because they harassed them.

[not fooled]

16. Well, fortunately that won't be a problem

once the tech loons crash the economy and demand for new construction tanks.

[Alberta Bound]

14. Canada - gypsum wallboard (drywall sheeting)

This figure below is close enough +/- a few percentage points to be significant. Important to housing construction in general but particularly relevant to those who will "rebuild" after losing everything due to California fires, hurricane Helene damage, etc.

"Approximately 20 percent of all finished drywall products used in the U.S. are imported from Canada..."

Trudeau says that everything "is on the table" after the first 155bn.

Some gunpowder is being saved.

[SunSeeker]

15. Car prices will skyrocket.

Motor vehicles were also the second-largest good the US imported from Canada last year through November, for a total of $34 billion.

The auto sector is likely “apoplectic” about the new potential tariffs, said Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. US car companies have been able to keep production costs down by hiring lower-wage workers, particularly in Mexico, where much of their production has shifted to in recent years.

But that cost saving will essentially be erased if there’s a 25% tariff, she said. Car manufacturers are unlikely to move their production elsewhere, given they’ve made sizable investments in existing plants in both countries and it is difficult to source all the raw materials to build cars and their parts from other places.

This will really disrupt the supply chain as well. A huge amount of car parts are made in Canada and Mexico. This will be a disaster for the auto industry.

Hopefully the backlash will be so massive, like with his payments freeze, that he will back down. But unlike his payments freeze, his tariffs likely will not be blocked by courts. God help us.

[no_hypocrisy]

18. And car parts.

Your visit to Midas Muffler is about to go up. Who knew that a muffler could cost $600?

[SunSeeker]

21. Yup. The Wall Street Journal noted car parts cross Canada/ Mexico borders many times for each car built here.

And each time it crosses the Canada or Mexico border, another 25% will be tacked on to the cost:

Take the U.S. auto industry, which is really a North American industry because supply chains in the three countries are highly integrated. In 2024 Canada supplied almost 13% of U.S. imports of auto parts and Mexico nearly 42%. Industry experts say a vehicle made on the continent goes back and forth across borders a half dozen times or more, as companies source components and add value in the most cost-effective ways.

And everyone benefits. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative says that in 2023 the industry added more than $809 billion to the U.S. economy, or about 11.2% of total U.S. manufacturing output, supporting “9.7 million direct and indirect U.S. jobs.” In 2022 the U.S. exported $75.4 billion in vehicles and parts to Canada and Mexico. That number jumped 14% in 2023 to $86.2 billion, according to the American Automotive Policy Council.

American car makers would be much less competitive without this trade. Regional integration is now an industry-wide manufacturing strategy—also employed in Japan, Korea and Europe—aimed at using a variety of high-skilled and low-cost labor markets to source components, software and assembly.

The result has been that U.S. industrial capacity in autos has grown alongside an increase in imported motor vehicles, engines and parts. From 1995-2019, imports of autos, engines and parts rose 169% while U.S. industrial capacity in autos, engines and parts rose 71%. As the Cato Institute’s Scott Lincicome puts it, the data show that “as imports go up, U.S. production goes up.” Thousands of good-paying auto jobs in Texas, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan owe their competitiveness to this ecosystem, relying heavily on suppliers in Mexico and Canada.

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-tariffs-25-percent-mexico-canada-trade-economy-84476fb2?mod=mhp

Say goodbye to your auto jobs, dumbshit Trump voters!

[moniss]

17. The effect on produce prices

will be the quickest impact for most consumers. The supply of fresh produce is on a short timeline from grower to grocer compared to other items. I would also imagine that softwood lumber, used in most home construction/remodeling, will see increases fairly quick. Plywood and laminates, although also produced in the US, I would imagine will follow along.

But Crumb The 1st making the statement that we "have enough forests of our own" so that we don't need Canadian lumber is about as ignorant as one might expect. Our softwood forests couldn't begin to heavily substitute for the supply of softwood. Our "managed" forests that we do have for softwood production can't just magically pop trees into existence that are "harvest" size and useable. There is a timeline for their growth. These managed areas of forest also have developed access, support services etc. built up around them.

An idiot, like Crumb, looks at pictures of forested areas in the West and envisions a huge supply effect. But much of it would take a huge effort, cost and time to develop and therefore the cost can be prohibitive. Also to an ignoramus like Crumb a tree is a tree and lumber is lumber. The concept of softwood, hardwood, grading etc. and why things are applicable for one use but not another are pieces of information the "knee-jerk" (or just plain jerk) reaction types brush aside in their simplistic and ignorant view of things.

[no_hypocrisy]

19. Even seasonal produce grown in the U.S. will have price increases.

[moniss]

20. Yes indeed and if the tariffs remain for awhile there will

be a shift in demand that will move away from the higher priced fresh segment and move over to the frozen/canned segment except of course for green, leafy produce etc. Fresh citrus purchasing will see shifts toward juice concentrates etc.

Also an effect of tariffs that gets little to no attention from "business" media etc. is the negative effect on the service businesses that work in the supply chain for the items receiving tariffs. When the importer has to pay the additional money for the tariff it has effects for them with how much they can pass on and still maintain a market/demand. This means costs at all levels in the chain come under pressure. The importer will seek to cut those costs wherever possible and so rates paid to truckers will come under attack, rates for warehousing likewise, wages in those industries etc. will also be tightened or reduced.

Additionally that means that since money is tightened there will be projects for warehouse expansion etc. that will be scrutinized for possibly pushing off implementation due to the uncertainty and market disruptions.