By Lateef Adegbite
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former minister of Finance and Coordinator of Nigerian Economy during former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, and now Director General World Trade Organization, WTO, has a big task at hand: To intervene and forestall the trade war being embarked upon North American c country of the United States, US, against Russia, China, India, Canada, Mexico, and several other countries.
President Donald Trump of the US who had increased the tariffs on imports from Asian country of China and for importing crude oil from Russia including the neighbouring countries of Canada and Mexico may have ignited a trade war between the US and the affected countries.
The power hungry US, President , who is ambitious to run for a third term in office who had said that there are methods to achieve the ambition despite being explicitly barred from doing so by the US 1776 Constitution, was said to have threatened ‘’to impose secondary tariffs of 25% to 50% on buyers of Russian crude oil from Russia if Vladimir Putin, the country’s Leader continues to block efforts to end the three – year-old war with neighbouring Ukraine, which was part of the defunct Union Soviet Socialist Republic , USSR.
He may have targeted the Asian countries of China and India, which are economic giants and other countries, mostly in the developing economies which are allies and trading partners of Russia to be added to the US new tariff measures and the additional duties to be imposed on steel, aluminum and cars imported from these countries into the US market.
A determined Trump who is out to weaken the Chinese economy at all costs, was said to have imposed an additional tariff of 10% on imports from China but energy resources imports from Canada will remain at the 10% lower Tariff to encourage energy trade been the two North American Continent countries.
President Trump who was said to have concluded plans to announce more duties on imports from these countries which includes Mexico believed to have had the largest trade surpluses, in the world, is expected to announce the new tariffs on imports from China and other trading partners on Wednesday, April 1, 2025.
Until 2022, when former President Joe Biden took the bold initiative not to import crude oil from Russia, US refiners, going by Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA data, had bought inconstant volumes of Russian oil as much as 98.1 million barrels I 2010 alone but reduced to the lowest level of 6.6 million barrels in 2014. President Trump, may have targeted China and India particular, which are the largest importers of Russian crude oil. His worry was that India has surpassed China to become the biggest importer of Russian Crude oil, which comprised about 35% India’s total crude supply from the country in 2024.
Besides the trade embargo in buying Russian crude oil by countries trading with the US, the US, President had moved at curbing the influence of China, in shipbuilding. As a prelude to discourage US shipping companies from patronizing China Shipyards, the US President, who is out to revive US struggling shipyards, was said to have established a brand-new office of shipping in the White House in Washing DC, the country’s Capital, and equally introduced a special tax incentives for shipyards to bring back manufacturing to the US shores where ‘’it belongs’’.
The US new office of shipping was said to have initiated a fee of up to US$1.5 million on China-built vessels entering US ports to discourage buyers. At present, the US ranked the 19th in the world in Commercial ship building with the capacity to produce less than five ocean-going vessels yearly, compared to China which, industry stakeholders had said constructs more than 1,700 units annually.
Many believes that the US Government may find it difficult to match up with the Asian country of China in ship – building technology and marketing skills as the international shipping companies irrespective of measures initiated by the US Government to revive the country’s struggling shipyards, would still patronize the Chinese shipyards because of the incentives guaranteed them.
Take for instance, the recent moves by the Chinese shipowners to splash as much as the US $123 billion on new ship- build orders to customers from the US and other countries in different parts of the world.
There are indications that China Merchants shipping and COSCO Shipping Lines, which stakeholders had said ranked as the first and second on the list of leading shipyards in the world had led the pack in giving the financial incentives which no American shipping yard, not even Delta Line, can do.
President Trump may have joined Mexico and Canada in the trade war with Russia and the Russian countries of China and India, because of the news making the rounds that the Mexican drug trafficking Organization have an alliance with the Mexican Government which was said to have afforded a safe haven for the drug cartels to engage in the manufacturing and smuggling of dangerous narcotics to the shores of America. He was emphatic that the alliance between the Mexican drug cartels and the Mexican Government had in several ways threatened the national security of the US, STATING that ‘’the influence of these dangerous Mexican drug cartels like their counterparts in Columbia must be stopped’’.
President Trump may have shocked the International community when he disclosed that there is a growing presence of Mexican drug cartels operating fentanyl and nitazene synthesis labs in Canada, which may have informed why the US, Government did not spare the country in the trade embargo
He had revealed that recent study had recognized Canada’s heightened domestic production of fentanyl and its growing footprint within international narcotics distribution network that gives it access to the US market.
This is where Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, Comptroller General, Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, and his Area Controllers overseeing the Lagos ports of Apapa, Tin-can Island port, Port Multi-services Terminal Limited, PTML, Kirikiri Lighter Terminal phases I and II, and South eastern ports of Onne, and Rivers port, PrtHarcourt including Delta port, Warri and Calabar port in Cross river state have to be more thorough in monitoring the cargo imports from Canada and Mexico to avoid flooding the Nigerian market with Fentanyl and nitanzene drugs, described as worse than Tramadol.
Just as the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, under the close watch of Muhammed Buba Marwa, who incidentally was a former Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa, during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration, are battling the drug barons, in Nigeria, Trump was said to have established a Commission on combating drug smuggling and Opioid crisis in the US. He did not stop there. He was said to have also declared ‘’the Opioid crisis in the US as a public health emergency’’ which must be tackled headlong.
There is no gain saying the fact that President Trump may have provoked the Chinese, Mexican and Canadian Governments to review their Tariffs on imports from the US. In apparent response to the US Government Tariff increase on imports from China, may have encouraged the Asian country to announce additional tariffs of 10% -15% on certain US goods coming into the country with effect from March 10, 2025.
The Chinese Government may have made matter worse for US exporters as it was said to have restricted series of new exports for designated US entities. In taking the bold initiative to increase their Tariffs on US imports,the Chinese Government was said to raised complaints with the Leadership of WTO to intervene to avert the Tariff war which many fears would affect the global economy which may lead to global recession.
The Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbanum, who is not ready to Negotiate with the US President over the new Tariff imposed on imports from the country was said to have vowed to retaliate just as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, had given his words that the country will hit back with 25% tariffs on C$30 billion , equivalent of US$20.7 worth of imports including orange juice, peanut butter, wine, spits, beer , coffee, appliances and motorcycles .
The Canadian Prime Minister had said that the government would impose another C$125 billion duties on US goods coming into the countryfrom US, if President Trump’s tariffs were not relaxed in 21 days, which he had said will include this time around, vehicles, steel products, aircraft, beef and pork, among others.
He noted that President Trump’s plan to weaken the Canadian economy to the point where Ottawa would consider annexation by the US will not work. In apparent retaliation to the US tariff increase, Ontario Premier Doug Ford Motors was said to have torn up a C$100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink network, banned US, firms from provincial government contracts.
, Already, the Canadian Prime Minister had warned that if President Trump insists on implementing the new tariff measures on imports from the US, coming into the country, he will not hesitate’’ to apply a 25% surcharge to Ontario electricity supply to the US’’. Bad news to the US Government.
He was said to have told those that cares to listen that ‘’Canada will challenge the newly imposed tariffs on imports coming from the US to the country’’, promising to take up the mater about the new US tariffs with the WTO. The International Community is waitng to hear the outcome of the trade war between Russia, India, Cina, Mexico, Canada and other countries, which remain a closely guided secret.
