President Donald Trump’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett said that Canadian officials have “misunderstood” the tariffs proposed by the Trump administration on Canada, Mexico, and China as being part of a broader “trade war.”
“The good news is that in our conversations over the weekend, one of the things we’ve noticed is that Mexicans are very, very serious about doing what President Trump said,” Hassett, the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, said on CNBC on Monday.
His comment came before Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Trump held a call on Monday that led to negotiations and both announcing that he would delay 25 percent tariffs on her country’s goods for one month. Trump is slated to speak to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later today.
Trump also stated that the tariffs against the United States’ three largest trading partners, which take effect on Tuesday, may cause Americans some short-term pain but that “long term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world.”
The president also suggested on Sunday that the 27-nation European Union could also see duties imposed on their products. He did not say when that may happen.
