Trump is set to impose sweeping tariffs
President Trump’s threats to impose stiff tariffs on goods imported from Canada, Mexico and China are expected to become a reality today. Trump said yesterday that there was no chance for a deal to avert them. Company executives and foreign officials scrambled to prepare.
The tariffs will add a 25 percent fee on all Mexican and Canadian exports coming across those borders and an additional 10 percent for Chinese goods. Canada was poised to retaliate, potentially setting off a trade war, and Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said: “Whatever the decision is, we will also make our decisions.”
Trump has described the tariffs as an effort to pressure those countries to stop the flows of migrants and deadly drugs. Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, said yesterday that Mexico and Canada had “done a nice job on the border” but that fentanyl deaths had not fallen enough.
China: The president’s threat to add another 10 percent on top of all existing Chinese tariffs has yet to get Beijing to come running with concessions.
Automobiles: The tariffs are likely to raise prices for new cars and trucks. Nissan and Stellantis could be hit the hardest.
Division: What’s behind Trump’s love-hate relationship with Canada, one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners?
