Donald Trump. Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg.
President Donald Trump said tariffs scheduled to hit Canada and Mexico next month are currently “on time” and “moving along very rapidly” following an initial delay, even as a U.S. official cautioned that the schedule may be less certain.
As he fielded questions during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump was asked if the tariffs, which he delayed until March 4, will go into effect next week. Canada and Mexico have implemented new border measures in an effort to stave off the tariffs, which Trump says he is levying to halt flows of undocumented migrants and illegal drugs such as fentanyl. “The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Trump responded. But following the remarks, a U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the fate of the special 25 percent levy on Canada and Mexico—tied to border security demands—is yet to be determined.
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Trump’s so-called “reciprocal tariffs”—which be calculated by the U.S. on a country-by-country basis and which could hit all countries, including Canada and Mexico—will go forward in April, the official said. Trump did pivot later in his response to the question about tariffs on Canada and Mexico specifically to discuss his plan to impose the reciprocal tariffs. “We want to have the same—so if somebody charges us, we charge them. It’s very simple,” Trump said. “But it’ll be very good for our country. Our country will be extremely liquid and rich again.” The Commerce Department is currently calculating the rate it will impose on other countries, promising to incorporate both tariffs and other barriers on U.S. imports.
Trump has moved quickly to announce sweeping tariffs in his second term, part of an agenda that aims to use the levies to reshape what he says is a global trading system that is unfairly tilted against the United States, and to convince businesses to create more domestic manufacturing jobs. The U.S. president has already put in place a new 10 percent tariff on imports from China, and tariffs on steel and aluminum are slated to take effect in March. In addition, Trump has said he would like to impose tariffs of around 25 percent on automobile, lumber, semiconductor, and pharmaceutical imports, with an announcement on those coming as soon as April 2.
Trump has touted his tariff measures as spurring new investments in the U.S. and as a critical source of revenue, as congressional lawmakers work to secure passage of legislation renewing and extending tax cuts. But mainstream economists warn that tariffs threaten to exacerbate price growth—an issue that helped propel Trump to the White House in last year’s election—and caution that they will not bring in the revenue the president and his allies project.
The tariffs against Canada and Mexico would hit the U.S.’s neighbors and major trading partners, threatening to rattle continent-wide supply chains and impacting key industries such as the auto and energy sectors. Parts of the U.S., including the Pacific Northwest and Northeast, are deeply reliant on electricity or gas flows from Canada. Trump’s tariffs would impose a 10 percent duty on Canadian energy products.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly pushed back on Trump’s tariff threats during a call with reporters yesterday. “I must say also that the U.S. is a net exporter of fentanyl to Canada, a net exporter of illegal guns to Canada, and a net exporter of illegal migrants coming to Canada,” Joly said. She said trading partners facing similar tariff threats should “work as a coalition by having the same types of countermeasures, of counter-tariffs.”
Trump first threatened the tariffs during the presidential transition, accusing Canada and Mexico of not doing enough to secure U.S. borders, a top issue for him. Canada has moved to broaden its power to clamp down on drug cartels in a bid to assure Trump the country is taking action. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also appointed a “fentanyl czar” to lead efforts to stop the flow of the drug across borders.
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