AFP USA

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday threatened action against Panama without immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, but the country’s leader insisted he was not afraid of a US invasion and offered talks.Rubio, paying his first visit overseas as the top US diplomat, told Panama that President Donald Trump had determined that the country had violated terms of the treaty that handed back the crucial waterway in 1999.He pointed to the “influence and control” of China over the canal, the vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through which some 40 percent of US container traffic passes.Meeting President Jose Raul Mulino, Rubio “made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the treaty,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.Mulino painted a less dire portrait of the meeting. He welcomed Rubio at his official residence in the tropical capital’s old quarter, with an honor guard outside the whitewashed walls.”I don’t feel that there is any real threat at this time against the treaty, its validity, or much less of the use of military force to seize the canal,” Mulino told reporters afterward, referring to the treaty that handed over the canal at the end of 1999.”Sovereignty over the canal is not in question,” Mulino said.He proposed technical-level talks with the United States to clear up concerns.Rubio did not spell out what measures the United States may take. Trump in recent days has imposed hefty tariffs on the three biggest trading partners of the United States — Canada, China and Mexico.Rubio and Trump say that China has gained so much power around surrounding infrastructure that it could shut it down in a potential conflict, with catastrophic consequences for the United States.- Protests against Rubio -Small but intense protests broke out in Panama ahead of Rubio’s visit, with police firing tear gas.Protesters burned an effigy of Rubio wearing a red, white and blue suit and held up pictures of him and Trump before a Nazi flag.”Rubio, get out of Panama!” around 200 demonstrators chanted as the former senator met Mulino. Police prevented the crowd from approaching the Old City.”To the imperial messenger,” union leader Saul Mendez said of Rubio, “we reiterate that there is absolutely nothing here for Trump. Panama is a free and sovereign nation.”Mulino, in response to pressure, ordered an audit of a Hong Kong-based company that controls ports on both sides of the canal.But speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said that concession was not enough on the canal and that “it’s appropriate that we take it back.”The Panama Canal — which Trump has dubbed as a modern “wonder of the world” — was built by the United States at the cost of thousands of lives of laborers, mostly people of African descent from Barbados, Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean.The United States maintained control of the canal when it opened in 1914 but began to negotiate following deadly riots in 1964 by Panamanians angered over foreign control.Jimmy Carter sealed the agreement that gave the canal to Panama at the end of 1999, with the late president seeing a moral imperative for the United States to respect a smaller but still sovereign country.Trump takes a vastly different view and has returned to the “big stick” approach of the early 20th century, in which the United States threatened force to have its way, especially in Latin America.In his first week in office, Trump prepared massive tariffs on Colombia to force the US ally to take back deported citizens on military planes, after the country’s leftist president complained that they were not being treated in a dignified way.Rubio, the first Hispanic secretary of state and a devout Catholic, started his Sunday in Panama City attending Mass at a church built four centuries ago in the Old City.He will travel to four more Latin American countries — El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic — where he is expected to press for cooperation on Trump’s key priority of deporting migrants from the United States.

Canadian border cities were left saddened and angered on Sunday over US President Donald Trump’s move to impose steep tariffs, with the mayor of Sarnia, Ontario likening the rift to a “failing marriage.”The city of 85,000 across the border from Port Huron, Michigan is an energy hub with 26 transnational oil and gas pipelines.Residents of both cities for more than a century helped each other out, for example, if a fire broke out. They jointly held hockey tournaments, the last one just two weeks ago.Their economies are very integrated and personal bonds run deep, Sarnia mayor Mike Bradley told AFP.”But it all seems to be coming to an end. And it does not appear that we’re going to be able to resurrect that relationship in the future,” he said.Trump on Saturday signed off on a 25-percent tariff on all Canadian imports except energy, which will see a 10 percent levy.”There’s just a great sadness,” said Bradly of his community. “The anger is deep.””We’ve had squabbles in the past (with the US), but it’s different this time, it has become personal.””It’s like a failing marriage. You do everything possible to save the marriage, but in the end, you can’t do it, and so then you deal with the impacts of it,” he said.Much of the past quarter century saw governments and industry on both sides of the border link a tight web of pipelines and refineries in Canada and the United States.This interdependence was meant to strengthen continental energy security by reducing reliance on overseas oil. So it came as a shock to Canadians that Trump would target Canada with tariffs that risk upending cooperation in the energy sector.Bradley described stopping at a fast-food restaurant on his way home Saturday evening, after the US tariffs were announced, where “instead of the usual talk, there was a half dozen people upset and angry about what was happening.”He said he has also fielded a flurry of calls from locals demanding that American flags lining Sarnia streets alongside Canada’s Maple Leaf be taken down.”Those flags were a sign of goodwill and acceptance of our (bilateral) relationship, and now that’s in tatters,” he said, agreeing to remove them. “It’s just symbolism. But I’ve learned from our American friends that symbolism is very important.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Sunday with Panama’s leader to press President Donald Trump’s demand that the United States take back the Panama Canal, as protesters vented anger on the streets.Trump has refused to back down on threats to seize the vital waterway, and it remains unclear what Rubio can achieve diplomatically that would please him, with Panama firmly rejecting any claims against its sovereignty.Rubio, in his first meeting abroad as the top US diplomat, walked past an honor guard outside the whitewashed walls of President Jose Raul Mulino’s official residence in the tropical capital’s old quarter.Rubio shook hands with Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha and flashed a thumbs-up sign before heading into talks with Mulino.Sitting next to senior aides, Rubio and Mulino made no comments to reporters.Rubio later in the day will tour the Panama Canal, the crucial link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through which some 40 percent of US container traffic passes.Trump and Rubio say that US competitor China has gained too much power around the canal and could shut it down in a potential conflict, with catastrophic consequences for the United States.Small but intense protests broke out in Panama ahead of Rubio’s visit, with police firing tear gas.Protesters burned an effigy of Rubio wearing a red, white and blue suit and held up pictures of him and Trump before a Nazi flag.”Rubio, get out of Panama!” around 200 demonstrators chanted as the former senator met Mulino. Police prevented the crowd from approaching the Old City.”To the imperial messenger,” union leader Saul Mendez said of Rubio, “we reiterate that there is absolutely nothing here for Trump. Panama is a free and sovereign nation.”- Trump refuses to budge -Mulino, in response to pressure, ordered an audit of a Hong Kong-based company that controls ports on both sides of the canal.Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said that concession was not enough and that Panama had “totally violated” the understanding when the United States handed back the canal.”They’ve already offered to do many things,” Trump said of Panama, “but we think it’s appropriate that we take it back.”The Panama Canal — which Trump has dubbed as a modern “wonder of the world” — was built by the United States at the cost of thousands of lives of laborers, mostly people of African descent from Barbados, Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean.The United States maintained control of the canal when it opened in 1914 but began to negotiate following deadly riots in 1964 by Panamanians angered over foreign control.Jimmy Carter sealed the agreement that gave the canal to Panama at the end of 1999, with the late president seeing a moral imperative for the United States to respect a smaller but still sovereign country.Trump takes a vastly different view and has returned to the “big stick” approach of the early 20th century, in which the United States threatened force to have its way, especially in Latin America.In his first week in office, Trump prepared massive tariffs on Colombia to force the US ally to take back deported citizens on military planes, after the country’s leftist president complained that they were not being treated in a dignified way.Just as Rubio started his trip, Trump signed off on sanctions on the top three US trading partners — Canada, Mexico and China — and told Canada it should be the 51st US state.Rubio, the first Hispanic secretary of state and a devout Catholic, started his Sunday in Panama City attending Mass at a church built four centuries ago in the Old City.He will travel to four more Latin American countries — El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic — where he is expected to press for cooperation on Trump’s key priority of deporting migrants from the United States.

Music’s elite are congregating in Los Angeles for Sunday’s Grammy Awards, and Beyonce’s name is on the tip of everyone’s tongue: will Recording Academy voters finally give the megastar her due?She is the most decorated Grammy artist in history, but Beyonce has infamously never won the coveted prize for Album of the Year — despite four previous nominations for her studio albums — and the 67th edition of the awards gala might finally put that paradox to bed.This time around, her genre-spanning “Cowboy Carter” — she will go on tour in support of the album this year, she announced just before the gala — is in contention.But she will face stiff competition from work by perennial winners like Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift, along with a buzzy class of pop hitmakers including Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX.Despite the high-wattage star power, Grammy week — which is usually loaded up with industry parties and performances — has taken on a more somber tone than usual, as the entertainment capital reels in the aftermath of deadly wildfires that leveled entire neighborhoods just weeks ago.Organizers decided the glitzy awards show should go on, with a newfound mission to raise aid funds and pay homage to impacted industry members along with first responders.On Friday, the annual MusiCares gala — which this year honored psychedelic jam band the Grateful Dead — raised more than $5 million in a single evening, bringing the institution’s total sum raised since the fires broke out to more than $9 million.The broader mission of MusiCares, the charitable arm of the Recording Academy, includes offering a parachute for artists and other workers in the precarious US music industry for everything from disaster relief to mental health support.The sudden need for fire aid placed a spotlight on that mission, and others in the industry have taken their lead to give back.Music powerbroker Irving Azoff, along with concert promoters Live Nation and AEG Presents, organized a massive benefit concert on Thursday featuring major stars like Lady Gaga, Eilish, Dr. Dre and even Joni Mitchell.Saturday’s annual Clive Davis gala — one of the most coveted tickets in the business — also focused on wildfire relief.”We must acknowledge… the pain, the loss and the devastation,” said Davis, the legendary music executive who has hosted the ultra-exclusive bash for 50 years.Performers included everyone from the iconic Joni Mitchell to crooner Michael Buble to nominees Shaboozey and Benson Boone.- Beyonce’s time? -That Beyonce has produced industry-shifting, culture-shaking work for years but been repeatedly and conspicuously shut out of the top Grammy prizes for best album and best record is regarded as one of the clearest illustrations of the voting body’s tendency to sideline the work of Black artists in the major fields.Pop juggernaut Swift has won the Album of the Year trophy a record four times — more than all of the Black women who’ve won it combined.The last to do so was Lauryn Hill, in 1999. Before her, Whitney Houston won in 1994, and Natalie Cole in 1992.This year’s nomination for Beyonce’s ambitious “Cowboy Carter” — which took the country industry to task by illustrating the rich but undersung history of Black artists in that genre — brings the issue into sharp focus.  – Best new artists helm the stage -Hip-hop laureate Kendrick Lamar is another big name to watch on Sunday: his rap battle with Drake spawned “Not Like Us,” one of the year’s most viral songs which earned him seven nods.Post Malone, who recently worked with both Beyonce and Swift, scored eight, and both have chances at prizes in the top categories.The closely watched Best New Artist contest features favorites Carpenter and Roan, who both skyrocketed into the mainstream over the past year.Roan in particular experienced a supersonic ascent, and a number of critics have tipped her as a name to beat for best record and best song.Also in contention is Shaboozey, whose hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” topped the US hot songs chart for weeks and is also up for the Song of the Year Grammy honoring songwriting.A tiny fraction of the 94 Grammys are handed out in the marquee televised portion of the gala, with most of the evening dedicated to performances.Artists including Eilish, Roan, Charli XCX and Carpenter are due to take the stage, along with several more Best New Artist contenders like Boone, Doechii and Teddy Swims.Legends Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock will also appear during the gala, which will pay tribute to the late super-producer Quincy Jones.

President Donald Trump announced broad tariffs Saturday on major US trading partners Canada, Mexico and China, claiming a “major threat” from illegal immigration and drugs — a move that sparked promises of retaliation.Canadian and Mexican exports to the United States will face a 25 percent tariff starting Tuesday, although energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10 percent levy.Goods from China, which already face various rates of duties, will see an additional 10 percent tariff.Trump’s orders also suspended exemptions allowing low-value imports from the three countries to enter the US duty-free.The announcement threatens upheaval across supply chains, from energy to automobiles to food.Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in imposing the tariffs, with the White House saying “the extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency.”The aim is to hold all three countries “accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country,” the White House added.China’s commerce ministry said in a statement it would take “corresponding countermeasures” and file a claim against Washington at the World Trade Organization.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that her country would impose retaliatory tariffs.Sheinbaum said she had told her economy minister “to implement Plan B that we have been working on, which includes tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico’s interests.”Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — who spoke with Sheinbaum — separately said his country would hit back with 25 percent levies of its own on select American goods worth Can$155 billion (US$106.6 billion), with a first round on Tuesday followed by a second one in three weeks.”We’re certainly not looking to escalate. But we will stand up for Canada, for Canadians, for Canadian jobs,” he said, as he warned of a fracture in longstanding Canada-US ties.British Columbia Premier David Eby announced that his province would specifically retaliate against “red” US states led by members of Trump’s Republican Party.On Sunday, the finance minister of Japan — a major US trade partner — said they were “deeply concerned about how these tariffs could affect the world’s economy.”Trump has repeatedly expressed his approval of tariffs as a policy measure, and has signaled that Saturday’s action could be the first volley in further trade conflicts to come.This week, he also pledged to impose future duties on the European Union.He has also promised tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, oil and gas.”Tariffs are a powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest,” the White House said.- ‘Opening salvo’ -“The tariff action announced today makes clear that our friends, neighbors and Free Trade Agreement partners are in the line of fire,” said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former US trade negotiator.”The move today is an opening salvo on the tariff front,” she told AFP.Economic integration between the United States, Mexico and Canada — who share a trade pact — means stiff tariffs will have “a strong and immediate impact” in all three countries, she said.Imposing sweeping tariffs on the three biggest US trading partners in goods carries risks for Trump, who won November’s election partly due to public dissatisfaction over the economy.Higher import costs would likely “dampen consumer spending and business investment,” said EY chief economist Gregory Daco.He expects inflation would rise by 0.7 percentage points in the first quarter this year with the tariffs in place, before gradually easing.”Rising trade policy uncertainty will heighten financial market volatility and strain the private sector, despite the administration’s pro-business rhetoric,” he said.Economists also expect growth to take a hit.Trump’s supporters have downplayed fears that tariffs would fuel inflation, with some suggesting his planned tax cuts and deregulation measures could boost growth instead.- ‘Drive up costs’ -Doug Ford, premier of Canada’s economic engine Ontario, warned of potential job losses and a slowdown in business with tariffs.He told CNN Saturday: “We’re going to stand up for what’s right.”US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has warned new tariffs could “further drive up costs for American consumers.”Canada and Mexico are major suppliers of US agricultural products. The tariffs are also expected to hit the auto industry hard, since automakers and suppliers produce components throughout the region.Analysts have warned that hiking import taxes on crude oil from countries like Canada and Mexico threaten US energy prices too.Nearly 60 percent of US crude oil imports are from Canada, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

Here is a list of nominees in the major categories for the 67th annual Grammy Awards, which will be handed out on Sunday in Los Angeles.Beyonce leads all nominees with 11 on the strength of her groundbreaking country album “Cowboy Carter”:- Album of the Year -“New Blue Sun” – Andre 3000″Cowboy Carter” – Beyonce “Short n’ Sweet” – Sabrina Carpenter “Brat” – Charli XCX”Djesse Vol. 4″ – Jacob Collier”Hit Me Hard and Soft” – Billie Eilish”The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” – Chappell Roan”The Tortured Poets Department” – Taylor Swift – Record of the Year, recognizing overall performance on a song -“Now and Then” – The Beatles”Texas Hold ‘Em” – Beyonce “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter “360” – Charli XCX”Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish”Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar”Good Luck, Babe!” – Chappell Roan”Fortnight” – Taylor Swift, featuring Post Malone – Song of the Year, recognizing songwriting -“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Shaboozey, Nevin Sastry & Mark Williams, songwriters (Shaboozey) “Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)”Die with a Smile” – Dernst ‘D’Mile’ Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars) “Fortnight” – Jack Antonoff, Post Malone & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone) “Good Luck, Babe!” – Chappell Roan, Daniel Nigro & Justin Tranter, songwriters (Chappell Roan) “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar) “Please Please Please” – Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter) “Texas Hold ‘Em” – Brian Bates, Beyonce, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bulow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyonce) – Best New Artist -Benson BooneSabrina CarpenterDoechiiKhruangbinRayeChappell RoanShaboozeyTeddy Swims- Best Pop Solo Performance -“Bodyguard” – Beyonce”Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter”Apple” – Charli XCX”Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish “Good Luck, Babe!” – Chappell Roan- Best Pop Vocal Album -“Short n’ Sweet” – Sabrina Carpenter “Hit Me Hard and Soft” – Billie Eilish”Eternal Sunshine” – Ariana Grande “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” – Chappell Roan”The Tortured Poets Department” – Taylor Swift – Best Music Video -“Tailor Swif” – A$AP Rocky”360″ – Charli XCX”Houdini” – Eminem”Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar”Fortnight” – Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone- Best Rap Album -“Might Delete Later” – J. Cole”The Auditorium, Vol. 1″ – Common and Pete Rock”Alligator Bites Never Heal” – Doechii”The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace) – Eminem”We Don’t Trust You” – Future and Metro Boomin- Best Rock Album -“Happiness Bastards” – The Black Crowes”Romance” – Fontaines DC”Saviors” – Green Day”Tangk” – Idles”Dark Matter” – Pearl Jam”Hackney Diamonds” – The Rolling Stones”No Name” – Jack White- Best Country Album -“Cowboy Carter” – Beyonce”F-1 Trillion” – Post Malone”Deeper Well” – Kacey Musgraves”Higher” – Chris Stapleton”Whirlwind” – Lainey Wilson- Best Country Solo Performance -“16 Carriages” – Beyonce”I Am Not Okay” – Jelly Roll”The Architect” – Kacey Musgraves”A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey”It Takes a Woman” – Chris Stapleton – Best Global Music Album -“Alkebulan II” – Matt B featuring Royal Philharmonic Orchestra”Paisajes” – Ciro Hurtado”Heis” – Rema”Historias de un Flamenco” – Antonio Rey”Born in the Wild” – Tems- Artists with Most Nominations -Beyonce (11)Charli XCX (8)Post Malone (8)Billie Eilish (7)Kendrick Lamar (7)Sabrina Carpenter (6)Chappell Roan (6)Taylor Swift (6)

Fresh footprints cut across the thick blanket of snow outside a small white house near the line dividing Canada and the United States.For Canadian border officer Keven Rouleau, it’s a clear sign of illegal migration.”They regularly run across the border,” he told AFP, which shadowed him on patrol.In 2024, these southbound migrants numbered 21,000 — a drop in the ocean compared to the 1.5 million intercepted on the US border with Mexico.Migrants who cross from Canada into the United States in the winter face dangerous conditions, with deep snow and high winds, and are often forced to abandon their vehicles to proceed on foot.They are sometimes only lightly dressed and wearing “simple sneakers in 20 centimeters (nearly eight inches) of snow,” Rouleau said of the migrants, who sometimes hide under trees to avoid detection.Canadian officers with bullhorns and powerful searchlights give chase, seeking to stop them from crossing the border, according to Rouleau.Since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in a blaze of executive actions and rhetoric on immigration, the border has been thrust into the spotlight. On Saturday he made good on his threats to impose tariffs on Canada — and Mexico — over the flow of migrants, as well as the smuggling of lethal drugs.Canadian exports to the United States will now face a 25 percent tariff, although energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10 percent levy.The meandering border between the neighbors is the longest in the world at 5,525 miles (8,891 kilometers) long. It is largely open without significant fencing and crisscrossed by thousands of miles of dense forests and farmland, and only a few rural roads.- Drug smuggling -Rouleau patrols a 200-mile stretch of the border in the province of Quebec. Ten officers are on duty around the clock, either in vehicles to detect suspicious footprints in winter, or by monitoring feeds from surveillance cameras. They also field reports of suspicious activity from the local community.Since Trump started to rail against Ottawa’s handling of border security, Canada has been at pains to insist that its frontier is nothing like the US border with Mexico.Nonetheless Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quickly rolled out a Can$1.3 billion ($894 million) border security plan.To much fanfare, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) unveiled two Black Hawk helicopters, repainted in police colors from their former US Army camouflage, that will help with “rapid intervention.”An RCMP spokesman insisted there was no migration “crisis” and that “the situation is entirely under control.”Canadian authorities say the number of crossings from their side of the line to the United States has dropped 90 percent since last summer.US Customs and Border Protection stats show that 42 pounds (19 kilograms) of potentially deadly fentanyl was seized last year entering the country from Canada, compared to 21,160 pounds from Mexico.Rouleau, the Canadian border officer, said that while the concern of local people has been palpable since Trump’s reelection, his job has remained the same. “It’s the status quo,” he said.Jody Stone, mayor of Stanstead, a small Canadian town in Rouleau’s patch, said “the border is quiet.”Residents have become accustomed to the presence of surveillance cameras clandestinely fitted to utility poles, she said, allowing officers to detect and monitor illegal activity.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum angrily rejected an accusation by the United States Saturday that her government has an alliance with drug cartels, and vowed to retaliate against Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.Tensions between the closely connected neighbors soared after the White House said Trump would slap 25-percent tariffs on Mexican as well as Canadian goods because of illegal immigration and drug smuggling.Sheinbaum said she had told her economy minister, Marcelo Ebrard, “to implement Plan B that we have been working on, which includes tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico’s interests.”Ebrard called Trump’s tariffs a “flagrant violation” of the United States’ free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.Sheinbaum also hit back after Washington accused her government of having an “intolerable alliance” with drug trafficking groups.”We categorically reject the slander made by the White House against the Mexican government about alliances with criminal organizations,” Sheinbaum wrote on social media platform X.”If there is such an alliance anywhere, it is in the US gun shops that sell high-powered weapons to these criminal groups,” she added.”If the United States government and its agencies wanted to address the serious consumption of fentanyl in their country, they can combat the sale of narcotics on the streets of their main cities, which they don’t do, and the money laundering generated by this illegal activity that has done so much harm to their population,” Sheinbaum said.Although US politicians and analysts have previously alleged Mexican government collaboration with cartels, it is the first time that a formal accusation has been made, retired Mexican diplomat Agustin Gutierrez Canet said.”It’s really unprecedented that the US government has now formally linked the Mexican government to drug trafficking in an official document,” he told AFP.”Trump uses this rhetoric to pressure but it should never be taken lightly,” he added.- Mexican recession possible -Analysts said the tariffs imposed by Mexico’s biggest trade partner would deal a heavy blow to Latin America’s second-largest economy.The United States bought more than 80 percent of Mexico’s exports last year, according to official figures.”Since exports to the US account for around 20 percent of their GDP, today’s tariffs could plunge both the Canadian and Mexican economies into recession later this year,” the Capital Economics consultancy firm wrote in a note to clients.An across-the-board tariff of 25 percent could lead to a drop in Mexican exports of around 12 percent, according to Gabriela Siller, head of economic analysis for the financial group Banco BASE.Mexico’s gross domestic product “could fall by four percent in 2025, if the tariff remains in place all year,” she warned.”By the end of 2024, Mexico was on the verge of a recession. If this tariff lasts for several months, the Mexican economy will fall into a severe recession,” Siller added.

US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico are set to roil supply chains for products ranging from automobiles to avocados — with industries girding for cost increases.US imports from both countries covered nearly $900 billion in goods as of 2023, and supply lines between the three North American neighbors — who share a trade agreement — are deeply integrated. Fresh tariffs would pose complications for businesses with a footprint across one or more countries. Analysts expect Trump’s 25 percent across-the-board tariffs on Canada and Mexico would hit the automobile and electronics sectors hard.While Canadian energy exports have a lower 10 percent rate, this still marks an uptick as Washington previously did not impose tariffs on Canadian oil imports.Mexico and Canada also account for significant US agriculture imports, meaning the duties could add to prices of popular foods like avocados and tomatoes.- Canada: energy, autos -Nearly 80 percent of Canadian goods exports go to the United States, amounting to some $410 billion in value, according to Statistics Canada.The levies will hit Canadian vehicle and energy industries hard, given that they represent over 40 percent of Canada’s exports to the United States.The energy exports involve mainly crude oil and bitumen, alongside natural gas.The auto sector in Ontario — the nation’s most populous province — faces particular challenges.This is because “various parts cross the border multiple times before ending up in a finished product,” said Robert Kavcic, at Bank of Montreal, in a research note.The United States imports construction materials from Canada, too, meaning tariffs could drive up housing costs.More than 70 percent of imports of two key materials homebuilders need — softwood lumber and gypsum — come from Canada and Mexico, said National Association of Home Builders chairman Carl Harris.”Tariffs on lumber and other building materials increase the cost of construction and discourage new development,” he said.- Mexico: autos, electronics -Mexico’s exports to the United States represented 84 percent of the goods it sold to the world last year, according to its National Institute of Statistics.This amounts to over $510 billion.The auto industry spanning vehicles and parts, alongside the electronics and machines sector, will likely see the greatest impact.They send around half of all their production to the United States, analysts from Capital Economics said.The latest 25 percent tariffs would also affect sectors like food.Mexico supplied 63 percent of US vegetable imports and nearly half of US fruit and nut imports in 2023, according to the US Department of Agriculture.More than 80 percent of US avocados come from Mexico — meaning higher import costs could push up prices of items like guacamole.- Basis for tariffs -Trump invoked emergency economic powers in imposing tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, arguing they had failed to stem the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the United States.Chinese goods faced an added 10 percent tariff under the latest announcement.But analysts have said that US tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports could be incompatible with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade deal Trump inked during his first presidential term.Some anticipated that Trump’s posturing could be a way for Washington to gain an upper hand ahead of a 2026 deadline to review the USMCA.- Potential impact -Economists warned that heavy US tariffs — and retaliatory measures — could tip Canada and Mexico’s economies into recession, while the United States would face risks of a shallow downturn too.”The tariffs send a clear message, reinforcing Trump’s America First stance while using trade as a geopolitical tool,” EY chief economist Gregory Daco told AFP.Markets will view this as heightened political uncertainty while investors brace for inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions, he said.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has already announced that her country would impose retaliatory tariffs.”Mexico and Canada could challenge the move under USMCA, while China may counter with targeted restrictions,” Daco said.A bigger concern, he said, is that the situation could escalate into a prolonged and broader conflict.

Marco Rubio arrived in Panama Saturday on his debut trip abroad as US secretary of state, as he looks for how to follow up on President Donald Trump’s extraordinary threat to seize the Panama Canal.Rubio’s mission came as Trump imposed steep tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China — another step showing a far more aggressive US foreign policy.Rubio will travel later to four other small Latin American countries for an agenda focused on migration, a highly unusual first trip for the top US diplomat, whose predecessors were more likely to start the job with language of cooperation with major allies.Trump has refused to rule out military force to seize the Panama Canal, which the United States handed over at the end of 1999, saying that China has exerted too much control through its investment in surrounding ports.In his inaugural address, Trump said that the United States will be “taking it back” — and he refused to back down Friday.”They’ve already offered to do many things,” Trump said of Panama, “but we think it’s appropriate that we take it back.”He alleged that Panama was taking down Chinese-language signs to cover up how “they’ve totally violated the agreement” on the canal.”Marco Rubio is going over to talk to the gentleman that’s in charge,” Trump told reporters.Rubio will tour the Panama Canal and meet President Jose Raul Mulino on Sunday, a US official said. Mulino, generally considered an ally of the United States, has ruled out opening negotiations after complaining to the United Nations about Trump’s threat.”I cannot negotiate, much less open a process of negotiations on the canal,” Mulino said Thursday.The issue “is sealed. The canal is Panama’s,” Mulino said.Mulino’s government, however, has ordered an audit of CK Hutchison Holdings, the Hong Kong company that operates ports on both sides of the canal.- What does ‘taking it back’ mean? -Trump’s more aggressive foreign policy postures come as his administration also upends foreign aid, with US media characterizing recent firings at the nation’s international development agency as a “purge.”Amid the upheaval, which has seen swaths of humanitarian funding frozen, USAID’s websites were down over the weekend, with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy criticizing the “total destruction” of the agency.The State Department has also altered its travel advisory language to get rid of references to trans people, changing LGBTQ to LGB.In Panama, it remains to be seen how Rubio carries out Trump’s threat. Some experts believe that Trump was simply applying pressure and could declare a win by the United States ramping up investment in the canal — an outcome that most Panamanians would welcome.Rubio has played down the military option but also did not contradict his boss.”I think the president’s been pretty clear he wants to administer the canal again. Obviously, the Panamanians are not big fans of that idea,” Rubio told SiriusXM radio in an interview before the trip.He acknowledged that Panama’s government “generally is pro-American” but said that the Panama Canal is a “core national interest for us.””We cannot allow any foreign power — particularly China -– to hold that kind of potential control over it that they do. That just can’t continue,” Rubio said.The canal remains the crucial link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and coasts, with 40 percent of US container traffic going through it.Trump administration officials said they were blaming not Mulino but previous Panamanian president Juan Carlos Varela, who in 2017 — during Trump’s first term as president — moved to sever ties with Taiwan in favor of China.Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy on Latin America, charged that Panama unfairly raised costs for US ships while also seeking assistance from the United States for canal upkeep. Panama attributes rising costs to the effects of a drought, exacerbated by climate change.