Trump vows 25% tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico
The president-elect said in November 2024 he would impose the tariffs on his first day in office and add 10% to tariffs on Chinese goods.
In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on all products coming into the United States from Mexico and Canada. He made the pledge in a Nov. 25 post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump wrote that on Jan. 20, "as one of my many first Executive Orders," he would sign the documents needed to impose the tariff. He said it would remain in effect until drugs, "in particular Fentanyl," and illegal immigration across the borders stopped.
China
In a separate post, Trump said China would face "an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America." He said the tariff would remain until China stopped the flow of fentanyl.
Trump had threatened tariffs of 60% on Chinese goods while campaigning, CNBC reported.
Reaction
CNBC reported that the move on Canada and Mexico would end a regional free trade agreement. It also noted that Mexico was the largest U.S. trading partner, followed by Canada and China, according to U.S. data as of September.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo signaled that Mexico was prepared to respond with tariffs of its own. "One tariff will be followed by another in response," she wrote.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he spoke with Trump by phone on Nov. 26 and called it "a good call," without specifically mentioning the tariffs.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China's embassy in the U.S., wrote on X that "no one will win a trade war or a tariff war."
The U.S. dollar traded about 1% stronger against the Mexican peso and 1.4% higher against the Canadian dollar on the morning of Nov. 26, CNBC reported.
What it meant for carriers
The pledge covered all products from the two countries that, with China, were the largest U.S. trading partners. It was a stated plan rather than a signed order. Trump set Jan. 20 as the date he would sign the documents and said the tariff would stay in place until the flow of drugs and illegal immigration stopped.