Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on Donald Trump's trade war with China, Canada, and Mexico

America's trade war with Canada, Mexico, and China is ramping up. 

All three countries are introducing retaliatory tariffs in response to the steep tariffs introduced by Donald Trump last night. 

Trump's responded, saying he will raise tariffs on Canada even further. 

China's vowing to fight the US "to the bitter end", and Canada's Justin Trudeau says his country won't back down. 

Trudeau says Canadians are reasonable and polite, but they won't back down from a fight when the wellbeing of their country is at stake. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that within the US, major franchises such as Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and Home Depo are all warning of price spikes ahead.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Richard Arnold, morning to you. Hey, Michael, Well, it's all on.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
It's war tariffs on every front. Yeah, most politicos would
say that Trump won the last election because of people's
concerns about the economy. Here, starting with a price of
eggs due to bird flu. Now, as the Trump terriffs
have just taken effect against America's three biggest trading partners
by far, with that twenty five percent on most goods
from Canada and Mexico and twenty percent on China, retailers

(00:25):
here awarding that prices on a huge number of consumer
goods are going to increase starting in a couple of days, folks,
As famed investor Warren Buffett is saying, the tooth theory
ain't going to pay them. Now, it's a tax on consumers.
This begins with vegetables. Two thirds of imported vegetables come
into this country from Mexico during the winter months. Hear
those prices will go up first, leading stores Mike, Target, Walmart,

(00:48):
Best Buy, Home Depot all warding of price spikes ahead.
Wall Street stocks are falling. They've already seen the sharpest
declines this year. The S and P began this with
a one point eight percent drop, same as yesterday. The
Dow was down by more than seven hundred points yesterday,
but over six hundred last time I looked. The Trump

(01:08):
tariffs also will hit car prices in a big way.
They're set to increase by at least three hundred dollars
New Zealand per car. Fuel prices also will go up.
Small appliances prices will rise. Toy industry says they could
be devastated by olives. Their Rupert Murdock Wall Street Journal
is headlining its op ed now quote Trump takes the
dumbest tariff plunge. It warns that the journal had quote

(01:32):
courted mister Trump's eire by calling the Mexico and Canada
levies the dumbest in history. But they say we may
have understated the point, adding Trump is whacking friends, not adversaries.
End quote. However, we are seeing that trump Ism is
not about alliances right, It's about deals at the moment. Canada, also,
as you've noted, is calling the Trump tariffs very dumb,
but says Canada won't back down from a fight. Says

(01:55):
their PM Trudeau further on this, we.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Don't want this, We want to work with you. As
a friend and ally, and we don't want to see
you hurt either, but your government has chosen to do
this to you.

Speaker 4 (02:13):
Well.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Canada is responding with an initial list of retaliatory tariffs,
with more set to take effect over the next twenty
one days. Mexico also will retaliate. The White House says
this it's all about immigration concerns and worries about the
smuggling of fentanyl. Both Mexico and Canada have made moves
in recent times to titan laws on these fronts. But
when it comes to fentanyl in Canada, about one percent

(02:34):
that drug makes its way illegally through the US Canadian border.
So yeah, it's all about Canadian fentanyl.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
Right then we come to a speeches at nine o'clock
East Coast time to Congress. Of course, Zelenski's back down,
So does that mean he can say something about the
minerals thing tonight?

Speaker 2 (02:49):
You reckon? Who knows what he said tonight? It will
certainly be an unusual addressed to the Joint Session in
the Congress. But yeah, Trump has announced in the background
of all it's a pause in the US military aid
to Ukraine in the wake of that fiasco.

Speaker 4 (03:04):
The other day.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
How long would a pause be. Would it be a
day or three, few months? Who knows? Forever? This is
the Trump team contributes to lashing out on Ukraine's Zelenski
with more comments from Vice President of Vance. Today, Zelensky,
as you say, seems to be shifting ground on this.
He says he and his team are ready to work

(03:25):
now under President Trump's strong leadership to get a piece
that lasts. Well, there's some diplos speak for you, folks.
They really love each other, right, VP Vance says the
US still is open to doing a deal with Ukraine
on rare earth minerals, and Vance says he still thinks
that is on the table.

Speaker 5 (03:43):
Well, I certainly do, and I think the President is
still committed to the mineral deal. I think we've heard
some positive things, but not yet of course the signature
from our friends in Ukraine. But look, the mineral deal
is a really important part of the President's policy. Number one.
The American people have got to get some pay back.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah, payback is his JD who is facing flak from
the Brits by describing the UK as quote some random
countries that hasn't forught a war in thirty years he's
got away with Woods vance, doesn't he? Democrat Childon white
House Senator white House saying, of the pressure game that
we're seeing.

Speaker 4 (04:16):
What it looks like is extortion by Trump of Ukraine
for Russia. All of the pressure in the so called
negotiation is on the Ukrainian side. And I see the
vice president of the President ask acting very directly as
agents of Putin and Russia in the so called negotiations.

(04:37):
Imagine if Franklin Delan Roosevelt had told Winston Churchill, we're
cutting off lendlease, you have to negotiate with Hitler and
be prepared to give up some of your territory and
put no pressure on Hitler.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
So that's the Democrats' view. Are there assurances that put
In really is seeking peace? Is there any pressure on
Moscow in any of this? Meantime, the Krimlins say they
think you was policy now very much in line with
Russia's term.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
All right, speak at three pm this afternoon, New Zealand time. Rich,
appreciate it very much. Please explain this is Trump on
truth social a couple of moments. Please explain to Governor
Trudeau that when he puts on a retellia true tefe
a tariff on the uf OUR reciprocal tariff will immediately
increase by a like amount. So this is going, you know,
fifteen thirty forty five, and so it goes.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
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