The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board criticized President Donald Trump’s retaliatory tariffs against the top three trading partners of America, labeling it as the beginning of the ‘dumbest trade war in history.’
The Journal, known for its conservative slant and in-depth reporting on the economy, said Trump’s levies on Mexico, Canada and China make ‘no sense.’
In response to this, Trump announced the imposition of a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, along with an additional 10 percent tax on Chinese goods, set to take effect on Tuesday. These three countries accounted for approximately 40 percent of the total imports to the United States in the previous year.
Following the scathing critique from the Wall Street Journal, Trump appeared to be affected by the backlash and retaliated by denouncing the newspaper as ‘always wrong’ and being a part of the ‘Tariff Lobby.’
‘The “Tariff Lobby,” headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify Countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and too many others to name, continue the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS that are allowed to so freely flow into AMERICA,’ Trump wrote Sunday morning on Truth Social.
His stated rationale has long been to punish these countries for not doing enough to stop fentanyl and other deadly opioids from coming into the US. He also wants to pressure Canada and Mexico into reducing illegal immigration.
The Journal, owned by billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, a prominent face at Trump’s inauguration, zeroed in more on Trump’s decision to tariff Canada and Mexico, countries that have traditionally been allies and reliable trade partners.
‘Leaving China aside, Mr. Trump’s justification for this economic assault on the neighbors makes no sense,’ the WSJ board wrote. ‘Drugs have flowed into the US for decades, and will continue to do so as long as Americans keep using them. Neither country can stop it.’
Before he was sworn in, President Donald Trump promised sweeping tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada. To The Wall Street Journal’s chagrin, he is delivering on that promise, with the levies set to go into effect on Tuesday
The newspaper’s editorial board said Trump is set to start the ‘dumbest trade war in history’
Rupert Murdoch, who owns The Wall Street Journal as well as other conservative outlets like Fox News, was at Trump’s inauguration on January 20
The Journal also slammed Trump for suggesting that the US doesn’t need goods like oil and lumber from Canada and Mexico because there is a big enough supply domestically.
Last month, Trump said of Canada specifically: ‘We allow them to take lumber. We don’t need their cars. We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their food products because we make the same products right on the other side of the border. It’s sort of crazy.’
The WSJ board wrote: ‘Mr. Trump sometimes sounds as if the US shouldn’t import anything at all, that America can be a perfectly closed economy making everything at home. This is called autarky, and it isn’t the world we live in, or one that we should want to live in, as Mr. Trump may soon find out.’
It pointed to the US auto industry, where last year alone Canada supplied 13 percent of auto parts imports, while Mexico contributed nearly 42 percent.
It claimed that without this trade, American car manufacturers would ‘be much less competitive.’
‘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,’ The Journal wrote.
More broadly, the American auto industry added more than $809 billion to the US economy in 2023 and supported ‘9.7 million direct and indirect US jobs,’ according to the office of the US Trade Representative.
The Journal also warned Trump that retaliation from all three countries he’s targeting is essentially guaranteed.
Trump slammed The Journal for its criticisms of his tariffs, arguing that the newspaper is part of the ‘tariff lobby’ and is attempting to justify the alleged bad actions of the countries he’s trying to punish with protectionist trade policies
His post on Truth Social came two days after the editorial piece smacking down his tariffs
In his initial announcement of the tariffs on Saturday, Trump suggested that Mexico and Canada need to do more to stem illegal immigration in the US (Pictured: Migrants march across Tapachula, Mexico, on January 26, 2025)
Trump also wants Mexico step up its efforts to stop fentanyl and other deadly opioids from flowing into the US (Pictured: Seized fentanyl pills by Mexican authorities are shown on December 25, 2024)
The newspaper suggested he should be aware of this consequence because when Trump placed tariffs on aluminum and steel in his first term, Mexico responded by putting tariffs of their own on American steel, pork products, fresh cheese and bourbon.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Saturday that he would tax $107 billion worth of US goods, including beer, wine and bourbon, as well as fruits and fruit juices.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also revealed her country will implement ‘tariff and non-tariff measures,’ though didn’t specify which products Mexico would be targeting.
China has been the least clear so far, only coming with a statement calling for the US to ‘correct its mistakes, work toward mutual understanding, engage in candid dialogue, strengthen cooperation, and manage differences on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, and mutual respect.’
The Journal pointed out that Trump’s tariffs will lead to Americans paying more for goods, since companies pass along the additional tax to the consumer.
Cars, auto parts and gasoline will be particularly vulnerable to price increases since all of these products have integrated supply chains across North America.
The Journal argued that Trump’s actions go against the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement he once touted and will make future free trade deals harder to strike in the future.
‘The US willingness to ignore its treaty obligations, even with friends, won’t make other countries eager to do deals.
‘Maybe Mr. Trump will claim victory and pull back if he wins some token concessions. But if a North American trade war persists, it will qualify as one of the dumbest in history.’
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Saturday that he would tax $107 billion worth of US goods, including beer, wine and bourbon
The governments of Mexico and China, led by presidents Claudia Sheinbaum and Xi Jinping, have both suggested retaliatory action is coming
Since he took office, the Journal has not been shy to criticize the president and has already editorialized against Trump’s pardons of January 6 rioters and suggested he should give up the effort to end birthright citizenship, among other things.
The paper didn’t immediately reject Trump, writing on Inauguration Day that he ‘delivered a message of aspiration and optimism that most Americans will welcome. If this captures his real plans, he has a chance to leave office in four years as a success.’
It didn’t take long for columnists to sour on him as he immediately got to work signing dozens of executive orders.
The most objectionable to The Journal appeared to be the blanket-clemency Trump gave to the people convicted of crimes related to storming the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, following his election loss to Joe Biden.
The pardons were ‘a rotten message from a president about political violence done on his behalf, and it’s a bait-and-switch,’ the newspaper said, pointing to earlier Trump comments that he would be looking at individual cases.
Trump’s decision to strip government-paid security from his former aides Mike Pompeo, John Bolton and Brian Hook – all threatened by Iran – ‘looks like a new low,’ the Journal said.
‘Decisions about security details are supposed to be based on neutral assessments of the danger, not some vindictive whim,’ an editorial published on January 24 said.
The newspaper also called Trump’s decision to launch a cryptocurrency meme coin a ‘caper’ and said it showed ‘remarkably poor judgment’ on his part.
