Trump officially ushers in long-awaited tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
President Trump on Saturday formally enacted sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, fulfilling a long-promised threat to force America’s closest trading partners to pony up.Canada and Mexico will be hit with a 25% tariff on all imports, while Chinese products will receive a more modest 10% tariff, Bloomberg reported.The US will also impose 10% tariffs on energy products from Canada.
The three Executive Orders have a retaliation clause that will boost the tariffs should the three countries respond.The tariffs are in response to the three nation’s tolerance of illegal fentanyl, which has flooded the United States in recent years, leading to the deaths of “tens of millions” of Americans, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Friday.Trump’s trade war on Canada is expected to officially kick in Tuesday by imposing the 25% tariff on nearly all goods from the US’s northern neighbor.The president’s plan also includes a 10% tariff on Canadian energy products, according to CBC News.Canada, however, was expected to hit back later Saturday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing retaliatory tariffs against America, its biggest customer for trade, the outlet reported.It was unclear Saturday when the United States will begin imposing tariffs on Mexico and China.
Trump has long been a fan of taxing imports from other nations as a way to correct trade imbalances, raise revenues and be used as leverage for unrelated policy battles.Earlier this month when Colombia initially refused to accept a plane load of their citizens in the United States illegally, Trump vowed to implement tariffs as high as 50% — a move that would likely have sent the small Colombia nation into depression.Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro immediately buckled under pressure and even offered his presidential plane to assist in the deportations.The tariffs could mean significant price increases for ordinary Americans on everyday products.In 2024, the United States impor...