President Donald Trump says he will issue a 25 percent tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports starting on Tuesday.
The tariffs come weeks after Trump postponed his initial plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexican imports and some Canadian imports. There is “no room left” to negotiate with the two countries, Trump said on Monday.
“Tomorrow, tariffs — 25 percent on Canada, and 25 percent on Mexico — and that will start tomorrow,” Trump said. “So they’re going to have a tariff, and what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things, in the United States, in which case you have no tariffs.”
Trump levied tariffs against Mexico and Canada via executive order on February 1 in an effort to get both countries to better prevent illegal immigration and cross-border fentanyl smuggling. The president delayed the tariffs on February 3 after both countries pledged to address his concerns.
However, Trump said last week, drugs are still “pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels.”
“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” Trump said on Truth Social last week. “China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date. The April Second Reciprocal Tariff date will remain in full force and effect.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have promised to retaliate with tariffs on U.S. goods if Trump enacts the tariffs. Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened in response to Trump’s latest announcement that he would “do everything, including cut off their energy, with a smile on my face” if the U.S. imposes tariffs, “and I’m encouraging every other province to do the same.”
In order to issue the tariffs, Trump will use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which gives the president the ability “to deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat” from a foreign country after declaring a national emergency.
Although both Canada and Mexico have started to mitigate the problem of illegal immigration, Lutnick acknowledged, the countries need to do a better job at getting “[drug] cartels to stop sending in fentanyl.”
“[Trump] knows they’ve done a good job on the border. They haven’t done enough on fentanyl,” Lutnick said.
Fentanyl was the leading cause of death for individuals aged 18 to 45 in 2023, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. The drug and precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl filter into the U.S. across the southern border, and come mainly from China.
“China makes the fentanyl, gives it to Mexico, puts it through Canada, puts it through different places, mostly Mexico, but also a lot through Canada,” Trump said in early February. “And so all three haven’t treated us very well.”