Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on the impact of the Trump tariffs, increased tariffs for Canada, Mexico

The US President-elect is pledging to hit Canada and Mexico with large taxes. 

Donald Trump says of many first executive orders, one will be charging the neighbouring countries 25% goods tariffs.

He says they'll continue until they clamp down on illegal border crossings of drugs and migrants. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that the last time Trump played the tariff game it was with China, which resulted in Trump having to give US farmers bailouts worth $23 billion. 

He says economists are speculating that the tariffs taking shape in the way Trump is illuding could add up to $2,600 extra a year for consumers. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Richard Arnold in the State's morning to you, good morning.
Make twenty five here and ten there and fifty there
and off we go.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yeah, man, a lot of money involved. Most would say
that a key reason for Trump's election win was the economy,
the rising cost of so many things due to inflation. Here,
the inflation rates right now in this country is two
point six percent annually, So to come down a lot
consumers have been paying for the war inflation course through
astronomically higher interest rates. So this has hit the pockets

(00:26):
of everyone with any debt or with any plans to
seek out credited to a biohomer, ROGAA or whatever. During
the election campaign, Trump often spoke about using the threat
of tariff's to enforce border security and to stop the
flow of a legally supplied fentanel. So why is that
just campaign talk, a sort of negotiating tactic, or does
Trump intend to start another trade war? He's done this

(00:47):
in the past on his social media Today, Trump has
up the ante seemingly by saying he will impose massive
tariffs on day one of his new presidency on goods
from Mexico, Canada, and China. Trump has often said things
like this.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
It's one of the most beautiful words in the whole world,
the word tariff. It's more beautiful than.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Love, love, or money. Trump makes it perfectly clear right.
He says all products will be hit, with Mexico and
the Canaanian exporters additional twenty five percent, with China facing
a ten percent levy. Trump played that tariff game in
his first term. You recall at that point he was
targeting China and specific goods with the tariffon steel and
aluminium imports. Initially, China retaliated by slapping tariff on food items.

(01:33):
Then the US responded with another fifty billion in tariffs,
and China retaliated with more of their own in a
way that really hurt US farmers and led to Trump
giving bailouts to farmers here twenty three billion dollars worth,
so bottom line that didn't work out so well for agriculture.
Costs also went up for consumers here. This time it
is all farm more vague, Trump saying in his post
today that the new trade war is meant to hold

(01:55):
the movement of drugs and migrants. All three target countries
have responded, with Mexico saying it is ready to respond
to react and adding that drugs is an American problem.
Trump and his campaign claimed that Mexico, Canada, and Chinese
suppliers would pay, but in reality, US importers of essential
goods like car parks would pay, and those costs would

(02:15):
go fairly quickly to consumers. So some economists here are saying,
if this takes shape in the way it seems right
now to some, that could add up to an extra
twenty six hundred US dollars a year on average for consumers,
the same folks who voted for a government turned around
because of rising costses.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Indeed, then Elton John saw the interview yesterday and he's
got some real troubles, isn't they.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Yeah, well, he's had a few health woes along the way,
but yeah, this is being talked about as he is
releasing a documentary on his epic fifty year career called
Never Too Late. But in that interview with American ABC,
he says he's been sidelined right now because of a
previously undisclosed problem.

Speaker 3 (02:54):
Unfortunately, lost my eyesight in my right eye Joan and
July because had infection in the South of France. And
it's been four months now since I haven't been able
to see.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
So Elton John is seventy seven. He's had well a
list of things. His hearing was a problem for a time.
He had the knee and hip replacements, but this has
derailed his efforts, is what he is saying.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
That there's hope and encouragement that it will be okay,
but it's I'm kind of stuck in the moment.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
So Elton John has released thirty two albums during his
career to date, hopefully not the end of his musical road.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
No exactly. All right, might go We'll see you Friday.
Appreciate it very much. Richard Arnold stateside old Rockers Rods
due if you haven't heard this morning, He's headlining Glastow
next year, so if you lined up, I was saying
the other day, seven hundred dollars a ticket and you
don't know who's there. I would have played seven hundred
dollars for Rod stew It all day long.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
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