The White House announced yesterday that it will impose a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada starting February 1. The justification given is that these countries do not effectively collaborate in stopping migration and the fentanyl epidemic affecting the United States.
Trump argues that the U.S. trade deficit with Mexico implies that his country has been subsidizing Mexican growth by buying more than it sells. According to former Mexican president in Washington, Miguel Basáñez, Trump governs in favor of a small group of extremely wealthy families, about 130 with fortunes exceeding 100 billion dollars, supported by another 1300 equally rich.
The U.S. president seeks to boost the interests of these elites at all costs due to the fierce scientific-technological and military competition he faces with China. This competition has turned into a ruthless attempt to enhance the economic and military power of the parties involved.
Although the competition is still not decided, the trend seems to favor China in various fields, leading Trump to try to impose disadvantages on third parties to "make America great again." The U.S. political system, seen as democratic, has returned in the 21st century to its oligarchic and plutocratic origins, where the most powerful economic group dominates both economically and politically.
