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Donald Trump has ushered in a period of disruption to the global economy, threatening new tariffs against US allies and moving to dismantle Joe Biden's domestic and foreign agenda just hours after his return to the White House.
In extensive comments to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday night, Trump threatened to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on goods from Canada and Mexico as early as February 1, national currencies and pushing down US equity futures.
The newly-minted 47th US president also swung the finger apply tariffs on Chinese exports up to 100 percent if Beijing fails to agree to an agreement to sell at least 50 percent of the TikTok app to a US company, and tariffs on EU products unless they buy American oil.
The comments and the jolt in global markets provide another reminder of Trump's willingness to promote global order and engage in high-pressure negotiations to impose America's will on key trading partners.
The Oval Office comments came just hours after Trump used his inaugural address to pledge to end America's “decline” and start a new era. “golden age” Based on the dramatic turnaround of the Biden administration.
The 78-year-old president announced tough measures to increase fossil fuel production, deport immigrants, and deliver on the populist and nationalist platform that won him last year's White House race.
He rescinded a series of Biden executive orders related to everything from advancing racial equality and punishing violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank, to strengthening Medicaid and promoting voting access.
The changes included withdrawing the US again from the Paris climate agreement and marked the statement of intent of the world's most prominent politician, who was elected after promising to roll back the agenda of the Biden administration.
Trump also announced that he would pardon people convicted of participating in the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol, when his supporters stormed Congress and violently stopped Biden's victory in the 2020 election.
The amnesty for the protesters sparked a dramatic comeback for Trump himself, who won last year's election despite becoming the first president to be convicted of a crime and after two assassination attempts.
Trump's trade increased throughout the day. In his inaugural address, he suggested that tariffs are his favorite tool of international economic diplomacy and will be necessary to increase US revenue, regardless of their ability to raise prices for American consumers.
“Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tax and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” he said.
Trump said a plan to impose universal tariffs on all imports — a measure he touted during his campaign — remains on the table.
Canada's finance minister Dominic LeBlanc responded that Trump's threat to impose tariffs “is nothing new.”
“Our country is fully prepared to respond to any of these situations. . . It would be a mistake for the US government to continue imposing tariffs,” he told reporters.
Trump spoke in the Oval Office surrounded by key aides, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, policy director Stephen Miller, and Peter Navarro, his top White House adviser on trade and manufacturing policy.
Demonstrating that the crackdown on immigration remains at the forefront of domestic policy, Trump signed a national emergency on the US-Mexico border and took steps to limit citizenship to those born to undocumented immigrants on US soil.
“That's a big thing. . . “It is the only country in the world that does this by birthright,” he said, although many other nations allow the right.
Trump's move will almost certainly be challenged in court for violating the 14th amendment of the US constitution.
The president also ordered the Pentagon to develop a plan to send troops to the US-Mexico border.
Trump has also designated drug businesses as foreign terrorist organizations. Sending US special forces to Mexico to take them out “could happen. Strange things have happened,” he added.
Trump declined to say whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin raids in major cities on Tuesday to arrest undocumented immigrants. I don't want to say when it will happen, but it will happen, or we won't have a country.
Among his foreign policy promises, Trump said the US would regain control of the Panama Canal and “build the most powerful military the world has ever seen”, as he promised to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, saying he would be a strong military. “border of peace”.
Additional reporting by Ilya Gridneff in Toronto