Donald Trump’s latest trade offensive against Canada and Mexico has been branded “completely contradictory” by Professor David Dunn, as concerns mount over its impact on American consumers and businesses.
The newly inaugurated US president has begun his global trade war by implementing a 25 per cent levy on Mexican and Canadian goods.
Professor David Dunn warned the policy would be “massively unpopular” once its economic effects become apparent, particularly due to its disruption of vital supply chains.
The stark assessment follows Trump’s recent announcement of sweeping tariffs against America’s closest trading partners, whilst simultaneously suggesting the UK might be spared due to his relationship with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Donald Trump has been accused of ‘bullying and bludgeoning’ countries with his trade war
Reuters
Professor Dunn warned the policy would have severe economic consequences, particularly regarding America’s oil supply chain.
“It will be massively disrupting supply chains to the supply of oil into the American market. America gets 60 per cent of its oil from Canada, it will be inflationary, it will hit competitiveness, it will hit growth,” he told GB News.
The international politics expert suggested the impact would particularly affect Trump’s own voter base.
“If he sticks with this and there is a trade war between the three closest trading partners of the United States, we’ve already seen it hit the markets, it’s going to be disruptive in a way that will be a big shock to many people who voted for Trump because they thought he would bring down prices,” he said.
Donald Trump has issued stark warnings about imminent trade tariffs against the European Union while suggesting the UK might be spared due to his relationship with Prime Minister Keir StarmerGettyDunn attributed Trump’s stance to long-held beliefs rather than economic strategy. “Trump has believed in tariffs for decades, and he now has an opportunity. He has the power to do this. And for him it’s a bit of a mantra,” he explained.
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Professor Dunn highlighted how Trump’s trade war directly contradicts his stated goals regarding Mexican immigration.
“If you want to actually stop people coming across the Mexican border, what you don’t want to do is make unemployment higher in Mexico,” he explained.
The expert pointed to existing trade agreements as more effective solutions for border management.
“What the whole idea of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the successor to that, that he did in 2020, was to create jobs in Mexico so people can actually stay there rather than want to come and work in the United States,” Dunn said.
He described Trump’s approach as fundamentally flawed. “It’s contradictory, even in his own terms,” the professor added, suggesting the policy could worsen the very immigration issues Trump claims to want to solve.
Dunn told GB News that Trump’s tariffs will be ‘massively disruptive’ to Americans
GB News
Professor Dunn warned the trade war would severely disrupt America’s automotive manufacturing sector.
“Most of the components for those cars come across from Mexico and Canada. So actually it’s going to be hugely disruptive to the Americans’ ability to make cars and sell them because of the dislocation of those supply chains,” he told GB News.
The professor suggested Trump should focus on domestic solutions instead. “What the Mexicans say is this is demand led. Think about the demand in America and also think about actually the supply of weapons to the cartels and gangs in Mexico that the America supplies that makes the problem worse,” he said.
“If he did things at home first and got those things right, he wouldn’t need to bully his neighbours,” Dunn concluded.