West Virginia’s newest U.S. senator, Jim Justice, suggests President Trump’s threat of heavy tariffs against America’s neighbors has already yielded results.

“America has catered to other countries for far too long,” Justice posted on social media. “Mexico backing down demonstrates what a strong leader can achieve.”
Trump had ordered 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada this past weekend, saying the close trading partners have failed to stop the movement of illegal fentanyl and migrants over the U.S. border. Ten percent tariffs are also set to be levied on goods from China.
The tariffs were set to go into effect Tuesday.
The leaders of Mexico and Canada announced a one-month delay following conversations with Trump. Stocks, which had declined steeply after opening this morning, rallied after the reprieve became clearer.
Trump had also argued that the tariffs would address U.S. trade deficits, particularly with Canada.
Justice, in his own post, agreed that “the ridiculous trade imbalances that have existed must be corrected for the benefit of the American people.”
Canada is West Virginia’s largest export partner. In 2023, Canada was the destination for $181 million in West Virginia exports. China was next, with $36.3 million in West Virginia exports, followed by Mexico with $21.2 million.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has contended that “tariffs are not the answer.”
The American Farm Bureau also cautioned against tariffs with top trading partners:
“We urge your Administration to make certain that any action taken in the near- or long-term with
Canada, Mexico, and China does not make it more difficult for American farm families to raise a
safe and affordable crop on domestic soil.”

John Deskins, director of the Bureau of Economic Research at West Virginia University, said that raising tariffs would likely raise prices and reduce trade flows, negatively affecting the trading partners involved.
“Economists have largely been opposed to tariffs for decades and decades, and I’m not exactly sure why we’re doing this,” Deskins said earlier today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
“We import hundreds of billions of dollars of goods from these two countries, and these tariffs have the potential — they’re almost certainly going to raise the price of those goods.”