US President Donald Trump announced Monday that formerly postponed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will start on Tuesday, renewing fears of a trade war.
“Tomorrow, tariffs — 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico. And that’ll start,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
According to Trump, the purpose of the tariffs is to compel the US’s two neighbors to intensify their efforts to combat the trafficking of fentanyl into the country.
Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 1 imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada.
But the leaders of Canada and Mexico promised to take steps to curb the flow of narcotics at the border and he postponed the tariffs for a month.
Last week, however, he warned that they would proceed.
Trump also urged automakers to build new factories and more cars in the US in order to evade the tariffs, claiming Monday that “vast amounts of fentanyl got poured into our country” mostly from China and Mexico.
“So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the US, in which case, they have no tariffs,” he said.
He also said that all imports from countries that impose import taxes on American goods will be subject to reciprocal duties beginning on April 2.
“Reciprocal tariffs start on April 2. And I wanted to make it April 1, but I didn’t want to do it, I didn’t want to go April Fool’s Day, because that costs a lot of money, so we’re going April 2,” he noted.