Trump promised on Thursday that he will resume the 25% tariffs he had planned on Canada and Mexico beginning March 4, following their temporary hiatus earlier this month.
On Thursday morning, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the planned tariffs are set to go into effect on March 4th, as scheduled. He stated that the United States cannot tolerate the continued suffering caused by the drug trade and that the tariffs will remain in place until the problem is resolved or significantly reduced.
At the same time, Trump said that from that day, he will impose an extra 10% duty on China.
The president’s decision may or may not be final. He said Monday at a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron that he intends to implement the duties on Canada and Mexico. The situation became even more murky when Trump hinted on Wednesday that he would put off tariffs for another month.
Also, earlier this month, Trump was going to impose tariffs on both North American nations, but he changed his mind after meeting with border officials from both countries.
After leaders failed to postpone a deadline earlier this month, Trump chose to wait 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but he has already placed 10% tariffs on China.
Almost immediately following the implementation of those tariffs, Beijing retaliated with a string of measures. Tariffs of 15% were imposed on U.S. coal and LNG imports, along with 10% on crude oil, agricultural equipment, and some automobiles. In order to implement these tariffs, Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which, in the event of a national emergency, allows the president broad powers to regulate financial transactions.
More Americans are against tariffs on Canada and Mexico than for them, according to polling released this week, even if the public is somewhat divided on the efficacy of tariffs.
On Wednesday, François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of industry, stated that the nation is making great efforts to reduce the import of fentanyl, which was one of Trump’s justifications for the tariffs.
“It is clear that we are committed to achieving our goals of stopping the flow of fentanyl across the border and enforcing stricter immigration policies,” he stated. Canada is ready to contribute its share, in my opinion. Our colleagues in Washington have a good grasp of this, and we will keep stressing it. The topic of border security was also discussed this week during a meeting between Canadian and American lawmakers.
Quebec supplies 60% of the United States’ aluminum, therefore the tariffs would hit them very hard.
