Trump threatens to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China

When President Trump refrained from immediately imposing new tariffs on his first day in office, as he had previously threatened, business leaders and other international trade advocates heaved a sigh of relief.

This relief was short-lived. On Monday evening, just hours after his inauguration speech, Mr. Trump said he planned to impose 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico by February 1, saying that these countries were allowing “massive numbers of people and fentanyl” to enter the country. the United States.

On Tuesday evening, Mr. Trump broadened the threat and said he also intended to impose additional 10% tariffs on Chinese goods by the same date, saying China was sending fentanyl in Mexico and Canada.

The statements come just 10 days before significant levies take effect on the United States’ three largest trading partners, a move that could throw both U.S. diplomatic relations and foreign exchange chains into disarray. global supply. Mexico, China, and Canada together account for more than a third of the goods and services imported and exported by the United States, supporting tens of millions of American jobs.

The three countries together purchased more than $1 trillion in U.S. exports and provided nearly $1.5 trillion in goods and services to the United States in 2023.

The economies of Mexico and Canada in particular are closely integrated with that of the United States. Supply chains for various products snake across North American borders, traveling between each country’s fields, factories and stores as they are transformed from raw materials to finished products.