In a major campaign pledge that could significantly affect trade, President-elect Donald Trump declared on Monday that his incoming administration would impose new taxes on imported products from China, Canada, and Mexico.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that he intends to apply a 25% tariff to goods coming from Canada and Mexico, citing the ongoing fentanyl problem as justification for the idea.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump stated in a tweet. “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
Additionally, Trump stated that he will try to slap more tariffs on China.
“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States But to no avail,” Trump stated in a tweet. “Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America.”
The Chinese Embassy in Washington responded to Trump’s announcement by stating that trade and economic cooperation between the United States and China was advantageous to both countries.
In a post on X late Monday, embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu stated that no one will prevail in a trade or tariff war.
He claimed that since President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to resume counternarcotics cooperation at a meeting in California last year, China has taken action to halt the supply of illegal substances.
According to Liu, all of these demonstrate how the notion that China willfully permits the flow of fentanyl precursors into the US is wholly at odds with reality and facts.
In addition to highlighting the tight ties between the U.S. and Canada, Canadian officials stated that they will speak with the incoming Trump administration about border security and trade.
In a joint statement, Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland stated that border security and the integrity of our shared border are of utmost importance to Canada. Today, we have a healthy and mutually beneficial relationship, especially for American workers.
A request for comment on Monday night was not immediately answered by the Mexican Embassy.
With about 30% of all trade, Mexico and Canada are the United States’ top two trading partners. Products that would be affected include dairy, paper goods, building materials like wood, and the automobile manufacturing sector.
China’s biggest export destination, the United States, already levies a number of duties on Chinese goods. This year, Biden raised the tariff rate on $18 billion worth of Chinese goods, including electric vehicles, which now have a charge that has doubled from 25% to 100%. He also kept most of the tariffs that Trump imposed during his first term.
Trump stated throughout the campaign that he would apply a 20% general tax on all imports and levy at least 60% additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
During his September presidential debate with then-Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who called Trump’s proposed tariffs a”sales tax on the American people,”Trump cast them as a kind of payback.
After 75 years, other nations will eventually reimburse us for everything we have done for the world, and the tariff will be high, he remarked.
As NBC News has previously reported, corporations and Capitol Hill are expected to oppose any proposed tariffs.
Tariffs on goods entering the United States may cost Americans $78 billion a year, according to economists and retail trade associations. For example, a $50 pair of shoes could cost almost $65, according to theNational Retail Federation.The cost of a $2,000 mattress could rise by $190. Retail chain Five Below, online outlet Wayfair and Dollar Tree are some of the most vulnerable stores in a trade war, according to a CNBC analysis.
The tariffs floated by Trump would upend one of the biggest economic deals of his first term.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement,also known as the USMCA, was negotiated during Trump’s first administration and went into effect in July 2020. Tariffs proposed by Trump in his social media posts would likely violate the pact, according toArturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s former ambassador to the U.S.
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