Trump says he will follow through on Canada and Mexico tariffs and reveals date he expects them to start
Tariffs of 25 percent could hit goods from Mexico and Canada entering the U.S. as soon as next month, Donald Trump announced on Monday while signing executive orders, signaling the beginning of a potential trade war that could have major effects on the U.S. economy.
Trump claimed in the Oval Office that Mexico and Canada are “allowing vast numbers of people” and fentanyl to cross their borders into the U.S.
“We’re thinking in terms of 25 percent on Mexico and Canada because they’re allowing vast numbers of people [into the U.S.],” Trump said, arguing both countries were allowing fentanyl to enter the U.S. as well.
The president said he thinks the tariffs will start on February 1. If implemented, the tariffs would impact major economic sectors, including the auto industry, oil production, and agriculture.
Trump’s announcement makes good on a campaign trail threat from November to hit both countries with tariffs.
Officials in Canada and Mexico have suggested they could take retaliatory measures, while nonetheless urging Trump to change course.
Trump on tariffs: "We're thinking in terms of 25 percent on Mexico and Canada ... I think we'll do it February 1." pic.twitter.com/xSAOFhR77Z
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 21, 2025
“Our country is absolutely ready to respond to any one of these scenarios,” Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said on Monday. “We still continue to believe that it would be a mistake for the American government to proceed with imposing tariffs.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned on Tuesday that many of the key inputs in the U.S. economy, including oil, come from Canada.
“We will also remain steady and strong in advocating for this incredibly successful trading relationship,” Trudeau said.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum struck a similar tone.
“Regarding the decrees that President Donald Trump signed yesterday, I would like to say the following: The people of Mexico can be sure that we will always defend our sovereignty and our independence,” she said in remarks on Tuesday.
“It’s always important to have a cool head,” she added, suggesting Mexico will respond “step by step” to U.S. tariffs.
Both countries sought to head off a trade war after Trump announced his tariff threat in November.
Trudeau flew down to Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump, while Premier Doug Ford of Ontario warned, “We will go to the extent of cutting off their energy — going down to Michigan, going down to New York State and over to Wisconsin.”
Sheinbaum, meanwhile, argued that tariffs would set off a harmful back and forth.
“One tariff would be followed by another in response, and so on until we put at risk common businesses,” Sheinbaum said in November, noting that U.S. automakers have numerous plants in Mexico.
She also argued Trump is unfairly claiming that Mexico doesn’t do enough to stop illegal migrants and drugs, suggesting regional instability and U.S. demand for drugs are what drive these flows.
“If a percentage of what the United States spends on war were dedicated to peace and development, that would address the underlying causes of migration,” she said at the time.
Despite calls for a cool head from U.S. allies, Trump has started his term in a belligerent posture, threatening in his inaugural address to take back the Panama Canal, and claiming in recent weeks that the U.S. might buy Greenland, rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, and referring to Canada as America’s 51st state.
