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Trump will hit Mexico, Canada and China with tariffs

Trump will hit Mexico, Canada and China with tariffs
1 Feb 2025 11:00

WASHINGTON (The New York Times News Service)

President Donald Trump plans to impose stiff tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on Saturday, a move aimed at pressuring America’s largest trading partners into accepting more migrants and halting the flow of migrants and drugs into the United States.

Trump will put a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, along with a 10% tariff on Chinese products, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a news briefing Friday.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said the tariffs were punishment for Canada, Mexico and China allowing drugs and migrants to flood into the United States.

Trump’s decision to hit America’s trading partners with tariffs could mark the beginning of a disruptive and damaging trade war, one that is far messier than the conflict that defined Trump’s first term.

Back then, Trump placed tariffs on nearly two-thirds of Chinese imports, resulting in China hitting the U.S. with levies of its own. Trump also imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium, inciting retaliation from the European Union, Mexico and Canada.

While the tariffs against allies were viewed as controversial, they were relatively limited in scope. It remains to be seen exactly what products Trump’s new tariffs apply to, but the president has implied that they would be expansive and cover imports from Canada and Mexico, close allies of the United States.

Trump said Friday that he would also "absolutely” impose tariffs on the European Union, saying they had "treated us so terribly.” He added that the United States would eventually put tariffs on chips, oil and gas - "I think around the February 18,” he said - as well as later levies on steel, aluminium and copper.

Canada, Mexico and China are America’s three largest trading partners, supplying the United States with cars, medicine, shoes, timber, electronics, steel and many other products. Together, they account for more than a third of the goods and services imported to or bought from the United States, supporting tens of millions of U.S. jobs.

All three governments have promised to answer Trump’s levies with tariffs of their own on U.S. exports, including Florida orange juice, Tennessee whiskey and Kentucky peanut butter. All three of those states have Republican senators representing them in Congress and voted for Trump in 2024.

Trump’s tariffs would immediately add a surcharge for the importers who bring products across the border, most of which are U.S. companies. In the nearer term, that could disrupt supply chains and lead to shortages, if importers choose not to pay the cost of the tariff.

Source: NEW YORK TIMES
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