KEY POINTS
- US to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports
- Additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods from 4 March
- Further tariffs after the April 1 review
- Mexican President aims to negotiate a deal with Trump
- Canada’s anti-smuggling efforts to satisfy US concerns
- EU vows an immediate response if the US imposes 25% tariffs
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the proposed 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian products and an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods will take effect on March 4.
The move follows his earlier imposition of a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports on February 4.
Trump alleged that drugs were still flowing into the US at “very high and unacceptable levels,” with a large percentage of them the deadly opioid fentanyl.
“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social media site.
On Wednesday, a statement clarified some confusion regarding the deadlines for the harsh tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods that President Trump has threatened over the fentanyl crisis and US border security.
Trump administration officials indicated that the April deadline was set for Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs,” intended to align US import duty rates with those of other countries and counterbalance their other trade restrictions.
His trade advisers consider European countries’ value-added taxes to be akin to a tariff. Kevin Hassett, the top White House economic adviser, told CNBC television that Trump would determine new tariffs after a study is completed by April 1.
“The schedule is that there’s a study coming out on April 1, and after that, the president is going to decide what to do about tariff policies for all countries,” he said, but specifically mentioning Mexico and Canada.
Mexico expects deal with Trump
Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday said that she expected to reach a “good agreement” with Trump this week to avoid being hit with tariffs.
“We hope to be able to reach an agreement before the end of the week, at the latest on Monday,” Sheinbaum said at her morning news conference.
“I think that there will be a good agreement because until now there has not been a single issue where there is conflict, a problem that cannot be solved,” she added.
In Canada, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said on Thursday that the progress Canada has made on tightening security along the border with the United States and combating drug smuggling should satisfy the Trump administration.
China, in a letter to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, said China and the United States should address concerns in economic and trade fields through equal dialogue and consultation.
EU vows immediate response
The European Union has vowed an immediate and proportionate response if the United States moves ahead with a proposed 25 percent tariff on imports from the European Union (EU), escalating trade tensions between Washington and Brussels.
ALSO READ: Trump Announces 25% Tariff on European Union Imports
“The EU will react firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs are used to challenge legal and non-discriminatory policies,” European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said in a statement.
He further emphasised that the EU remains committed to protecting European businesses, workers, and consumers from what it considers unwarranted tariffs.
Meanwhile, European stock markets struggled Thursday after US President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs salvo, this time against the European Union, while earnings from chip titan Nvidia failed to impress despite another record performance.
Only London stocks managed to stay out of the red in afternoon trading after Trump warned Wednesday that he would hit the European Union with 25 percent tariffs.
