President Donald Trump has confirmed that on March 4, 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will come into effect, and that he will impose an additional 10% on goods from China. The decision was a response to the high levels of drug trafficking and illegal migration from North American countries. Bloomberg writes, UNN reports.
Details
On February 3, the President suspended the introduction of large-scale tariffs on the largest US trading partners for a month after the leaders of Canada and Mexico announced new border security measures. However, Trump recently caused confusion over whether they would go into effect after this grace period. In a post on social media on Thursday, he said that drugs from the United States' North American neighbors continue to arrive "at very high and unacceptable levels.
We cannot allow this disaster to continue to harm the United States, and so until it stops or is seriously curtailed, the proposed DUTIES, which are set to take effect on MARCH 4, will indeed go into effect as planned... China will also be subject to an additional 10% duty from that date
The new tariff on China will be in addition to the 10% that Trump imposed earlier this month when he suspended tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The 25% duty will apply to all goods from Canada and Mexico, except for energy products from Canada, which will be subject to a 10% duty.
Trump's threats of tariffs caused financial markets to fall, with the Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, and yuan all falling in value, and the dollar index rising. The price of oil also reached its highest level.
At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump likely combined tariffs on North America related to drug trafficking and illegal migration with other duties his administration wants to impose on other countries.
"The date of mutual duties on April 2 will remain in force," the President wrote.
Recall
Trump announced that he would impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from the European Union, saying that the bloc "was created to rob the United States."