President Donald Trump defended his tariffs — both those that have been implemented against Canada and Mexico, and more to come next month — during an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, which comes at a tumultuous time for the administration with brewing trade wars and resulting market volatility.
“We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on Earth and we will not let that happen any longer,” Trump told the joint session of Congress.
“Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries,” he said, pointing to the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada as examples of countries that charge “tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them.”
Though Trump claimed the U.S. trade deficit with Canada is “hundreds of billions,” the trade deficit is actually about $60 billion, without including Canadian energy experts, which would give the U.S. a trade surplus with Canada. Trump, its worth remembering, negotiated the trade agreement with Mexico and Canada and said at the time that it was “the most important trade deal we’ve ever made by far.”
The president, who says he plans to implement reciprocal tariffs on all countries beginning on April 2, promised Tuesday there would be “a little disturbance – it won’t be much” with tariffs.
However, with the implementation of 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, U.S. stock markets have fallen significantly. The S&P 500 index ended the day at its lowest level since November.
Meanwhile, Canada is already moving to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, while Mexico is set to announce its response measures on Sunday. Trump also implemented another 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports, which in turn led China to target a number of U.S. industries with tariffs of its own.
While Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested that the Trump administration is exploring possible relief from the tariffs and could have an announcement as soon as tomorrow, Trump made no mention of such a possibility in his speech.
The president also told the joint session that he wants to balance the budget, while touting several policies that would make that unlikely task near impossible, including his tax cuts, which would see no tax on tips, overtime, or Social Security benefits, as well as his promise not to touch Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.
Trump spent much of the first part of his speech touting the achievements of his first few weeks in office before setting his agenda for the next four years that will follow. Those achievements include record-low border crossings, ending DEI across private sector and military, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and banning men from playing in women’s sports.
“Our country will be woke no more,” he declared.
He also ticked through a list of superfluous DEI and climate contracts and grants that have been identified by the Department of Government Efficiency — a smart political move as he pointed out that even Democrats should be supportive of the agency’s work, while the left booed.
Democrats had floated several ideas to protest Trump during his speech on Tuesday. Many congresswomen showed up wearing pink in a show of protest organized by the Democratic Women’s Caucus. Others held signs that read “false,” “save Medicaid,” and “Musk steals.”
Congressman Al Green (D., Texas) was removed from the chambers at House Speaker Mike Johnson’s request after repeated outbursts, while other progressive members walked out of the chamber 20 minutes into the speech.
When President Donald Trump walked into the chamber, Democratic Representative Melanie Stansbury stood up and held up a sign that read: “This is not normal.” The stunt didn’t last for long — someone quickly snatched the sign out of her hands and threw it up in the air.