Trump To Slap Mexico, Canada And China With Tariffs Saturday

President Donald Trump will be following through on his threat to hit Mexico, Canada and China with sweeping tariffs over the flow of illegal immigration and illicit drugs entering the U.S.

The administration will begin hitting Mexico and Canada with a 25% tariff and China with a 10% tariff beginning Saturday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced during a press briefing Friday. The announcement follows import tax threats long made by the Republican unless all three countries do more to address the illegal immigration crisis and the smuggling of fentanyl into the United States.

“I was just with the President in the Oval Office and I can confirm that tomorrow, the Feb. 1 deadline that President Trump put into place in a statement several weeks ago continues,” Leavitt said. “The President will be implementing tomorrow 25% tariffs on Mexico, 25% tariffs on Canada and a 10% tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans.”

“These are promises made and promises kept by the president,” Leavitt continued. However, she was not yet able to comment whether exemptions would be made for oil imports.

Trump, who has executed an ambitious immigration enforcement agenda since re-assuming office, has wielded his authority to force other countries into cooperation. He most recently used the threat of tariffs to coerce Colombian President Gustavo Petro to take back his fellow countrymen after initially refusing to accept Colombia-bound deportation flights from the U.S.

There were roughly 8.5 million migrant encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border during President Joe Biden’s time in office, an era that oversaw an unprecedented border crisis emanating through Mexico. The spike in crossings coincided with a rise in