Trump Says Tariffs on Mexico, Canada ‘Going Forward’ Next Month
President Donald Trump said he expected tariffs planned to take effect on Canada and Mexico to go ahead next month following an initial delay to allow the countries more time to address his concerns over border security.
“The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Trump said Monday from the White House during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Trump was asked if the tariffs, which he delayed until March 4, would go into effect. Canada and Mexico have implemented new border measures in an effort to stave off the tariffs, which Trump says he is levying in a bid to halt flows of undocumented migrants and illegal drugs such as fentanyl.
Trump, in his answer, also indicated he was pushing forward with a plan for so-called reciprocal tariffs, which he has said would peg US levies on other countries to the tariffs and non-tariff barriers they impose on US goods.
“It’ll be very good for our country, our country will be extremely liquid and rich again,” Trump said.
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 US, and to convince businesses to create more domestic manufacturing jobs.
The US president has already put in place a 10% tariff rate on imports from China, and tariffs on steel and aluminum are slated to take effect in March. The reciprocal levies Trump has pledged could come as soon as April, but those will require the US to calculate those rates on a country-by-country basis. Trump has also said he would likely impose tariffs on automobile, lumber, semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports of around 25%, with an announcement on those coming as soon as April 2.
Trump has touted his tariff measures as spurring new investments in the US 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 the levies threaten to exacerbate price growth — an issue that helped propel Trump to the White House in last year’s election — and caution that tariffs will not bring in the revenue the president and his allies project.
The tariffs against Canada and Mexico would hit US neighbors and major trading partners, threatening to rattle continent-wide supply chains and impacting key industries such as the auto sector as well as energy. Parts of the US, including the Pacific Northwest and Northeast US, are deeply reliant on electricity or gas flows from Canada. Trump’s tariffs would see Canadian energy products face a 10% duty.
Trump first threatened the tariffs during the presidential transition, accusing Canada and Mexico of not doing enough to secure US 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 they are 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.
Source : Bloomberg
