U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to impose comprehensive tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China starting this weekend, potentially setting the stage for a damaging trade war between the U.S. and three of its largest trading partners. Trump also threatened to continue imposing additional tariffs on the European Union.
Goods exported from Canada and Mexico to the U.S. will face a 25% tariff, while products from China will be hit with a 10% tariff, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday, as reported by The Guardian.
The administration did not provide specific details on the tariffs, which Trump has repeatedly said would start on February 1. Trump later suggested in the Oval Office that oil from Canada, which exports millions of barrels of crude oil to the U.S. daily, would “possibly” face a lower tariff of 10%, and that he expected his administration to impose duties on oil and gas around February 18.
While the president insisted that nothing could be done by Canada, Mexico, and China now to prevent the tariffs, officials said they were trying to find a way out.
Leavitt dismissed reports that the U.S. would delay the implementation of the tariffs for a month, calling them “false,” and stated, “Starting tomorrow [February 1], those tariffs will be in effect.”
Canada has pledged to retaliate with a “strong but reasonable” response. Mexico has also developed plans, but declined to provide details. China stated that it would “firmly defend” its interests.
The U.S. is also looking at tariffs on drugs, steel, aluminum, copper, computer chips, and “things related to chips,” said Trump. He also threatened the EU, which he claimed had treated the U.S. “horribly.”
President Trump has claimed that imposing duties on foreign goods will generate hundreds of billions of dollars for the federal government while forcing countries – even two of America’s closest allies – to bow to his demands.