(Opinion)
By Ava Alers
Official Inaugural Portrait of Donald Trump
This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Daniel Torok. This applies worldwide.
On Feb. 1, 2025, President Trump signed three executive orders to impose tariffs on Canada,
Mexico, and China.
These tariffs include a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, with energy products from Canada facing a lower charge of 10%. This includes oil, natural gasses, and other energy
related goods. China imports face an additional 10% tariff on all goods.
Trump has delayed these tariffs for a month, however the impact they will have is inevitable.
Trump didn’t only impose more tariffs, but he has also ended de minimus treatment on imports coming from foreign countries. This means that even shipments under $800 will no longer be exempt from tariffs.
This was implemented due to the criticism of loopholes allowing businesses such as Shein to
have rising sales, while governments are missing out on potential taxes.
Ending de minimus and imposing more tariffs led to packages being suspended by USPS for a
short amount of time. This was until they quickly decided to continue shipping to avoid further
disruption in the shipping process.
Trump may believe his plans will help Americans, but it seems as though his tariff plans do
nothing but increase disruption.
President Trump claims these taxes will be paid by the foreign countries and that the American people have nothing to worry about. However, when companies are hit with tariffs, they often increase prices to make up for the money they would otherwise be losing.Economists around the world are worried and warning others about the dangers of Trump’s tariff plans.
Trump has repeatedly promised during his campaigns to lower prices for Americans. He even
claimed that “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on day one."
These promises catered to the millions of Americans struggling with the rising cost of living and guaranteed him his election.
However, now that Trump is officially in office, his actions tend to contribute to the increase in
costs. He even stated himself that due to the tariffs being imposed,
“prices could go up some-whats short term."
What the President failed to mention is how much these prices may raise, and for how long.
Americans are going to feel the pain from these new plans, and the President isn’t being fully
transparent with them. Trump is hoping that these foreign countries will bend to his will. This simply won’t be the case.
Trump is using tariffs as a threat to these countries, but these other countries have retaliation
methods. Other nations have already taken note of Trump’s ideas and are preparing.
EU chief executive Ursula von der Leyen states that “Unjustified tariffs against the European
Union will not be left without a response. We will take proportional and clear countermeasures.”
Trump claimed he would lower prices on his first day in office and has only done the opposite.
Now America faces disputes with other countries due to the policies he is planning to enforce.
Trump’s presidency is based on fake promises.
He claimed he would decrease costs in groceries, only for costs to increase. Now he is claiming that these tariffs will be good for Americans, but why should the people believe him?
Works Cited
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would they work? AP News.
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Gijs, C. (2025, February 14). Eu warns of “immediate” retaliation against Trump’s
reciprocal tariffs. POLITICO.
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Jones, C. (2025, February 13). Trump says US prices “could go up” as he threatens new
tariffs on Trade Partners. The Guardian.
Race, M. & João da Silva. (2025, February 5). Trump tariffs: US Postal Service resumes
deliveries from China. BBC News.
Torok, D. (2025, January 15). Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia.
Wallace, A. (2025, January 28). Trump pledged to bring down food prices on day one.
instead, eggs are getting more expensive | CNN business. CNN.
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York, E. (2025, February 13). Tracking the economic impact of the Trump tariffs. Tax
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