CGTN Poll: U.S. escalates tariff coercion, global respondents criticize its essence of bullying

"America First" is evolving into an increasingly severe case of tariff bullying! The new U.S. administration's threat to impose tariffs on China in exchange for tariff exemptions for Mexico has sparked continuous international attention. A survey conducted by CGTN, targeting global netizens, shows that respondents strongly condemn the U.S. coercion of Mexico to impose tariffs on China and are concerned about the negative ripple effects endangering global trade order.

In the survey, 70.4 percent of global respondents believe that Mexico's plan to impose tariffs on China is primarily under pressure from U.S. tariff policies, aiming to deflect the negative impact of U.S. tariffs on itself. In fact, since the new U.S. administration took office, the economic bullying under the guise of "America First" has not ceased. A total of 76.4 percent of respondents are concerned that if Mexico succumbs to U.S. pressure and imposes tariffs on other countries, it will set a poor example in the international community, further disrupting global trade order. Additionally, 73 percent of respondents criticize the U.S. for wielding the big "tariff stick" to economically coerce other nations, exacerbating negative ripple effects in international trade and severely undermining trade order and the stability of supply chains.

In an earlier public opinion poll conducted by CGTN, Mexican respondents expressed extreme displeasure with the "America First" policy pursued by the new U.S. administration in both domestic and foreign affairs since taking office. Among them, 66.4 percent of Mexican respondents noted that the United States unilaterally decided to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico without adequate consultation with the countries surrounding it, undermining geographical and cultural traditions and challenging the authority of the United Nations. The U.S. has consistently used economic measures to influence Mexico's internal affairs, 78.5 percent of Mexican respondents said, while 80.5 percent of respondents expressed concern about the U.S. restricting Mexico's development through tariff impositions. Sixty percent of the respondents held a pessimistic view of the future of U.S.-Mexico relations.

Meanwhile, in the evaluation of the impact of the current U.S. foreign policies on U.S. bilateral relations, 67 percent of Mexican respondents expressed deep concern about U.S.-China ties – the highest proportion among the surveyed groups. Additionally, 76 percent of Mexican respondents hold the belief that the new U.S. administration's continued pursuit of the "America First" policy will hinder global economic development, and 62 percent of respondents think that the policies of the new U.S. administration will inevitably weaken the country's leadership in the international community.

This online survey was released on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms, attracting the participation of 6,603 netizens within 24 hours.