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 fentanyl seizures, largely fueled by Chinese chemical companies.
While its activity remains far below its southern counterpart, unlawful crossings at the northern border also spiked in the years under the Biden administration.
In response to Trump’s approach to gaining control of U.S. borders, outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped up border enforcement, visited Trump at Mar-a-Largo and deployed his own officials to Washington, D.C., in an effort to avoid a tariff battle. Nevertheless, Trudeau made clear that he will issue a “purposeful, forceful but reasonable, immediate” response if Trump follows through with his import tax threats.
Both Mexico and China have indicated that they will also respond with their own measures if they are hit with tariffs.
During the Friday press briefing, Leavitt brushed back questions over whether the move will spark a tariff war and ignite heightened inflation in the U.S., noting that the president has implemented tariffs in the past while keeping inflation rates and prices low for Americans.
“I think Americans concerned with increased prices should look at what President Trump did in his first term,” she said.
“He effectively implemented tariffs and the average inflation rate during the first Trump administration was 1.9%,” Leavitt continued. “President Trump is going to do everything he possibly can to cut the inflation crisis that the previous administration imposed on the American people and he will continue to effectively utilize tariffs.”
A White House official confirmed to reporters that the president signed the orders on Saturday. There will be 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and 25% tariffs on imports from Canada with the exception of energy which will be 10%, a White House official told reporters. The orders also include a 10% tariff on imports from China.
Each order has a retaliation clause, which will raise the price of the tariffs if the countries push back, a White House official explained to reporters.
“President Trump is going to stop death by Chinese fentanyl with the help of Mexican cartels and the Canadian lax policing of their border, and it’s going to be using the tariffs,” a White House official said on a Saturday call with reporters.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect confirmation from a White House official that the orders were implemented Saturday.
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