Trump To Impose Tariffs On China, Canada And Mexico On Saturday, Sparking Fear Of Trade War
President Trump will impose tariffs on Canada (25%), Mexico (25%), and China (10%) on Saturday, said the White House, sparking fear of a trade war and price rise in the US.
US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China on Saturday, said the White House.
Canada and Mexico will be imposed with a tariff of 25 per cent each while it will be 10 per cent for China, reported BBC. On Friday, Trump said that Canadian oil would be hit with the lowest tariffs of 10 per cent which could take effect later, on February 18.
European Union is also expected to take the hit as Trump said the bloc has not treated the US well.
Duties on Canada and Mexico were in response to "the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed 10s of millions of Americans," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump has maintained that the tariff move was to address the large amounts of undocumented migrants that have come across US borders as well as trade deficits with its neighbours.
"These are promises made and promises kept by the President," said the White House press secretary during a news briefing.
During his election campaign, Trump had warned to hit Chinese-made products with tariffs up to 60 per cent but held off any immediate action on his first day back in the White House.
Since 2018 Chinese goods imports to the US have flattened and economists have attributed it in part to a series of escalating tariffs that Trump imposed during his first term.
China, Canada, and Mexico are top trading partners of the US, accounting for 40 per cent of the goods imported into the US last year and the tariffs have raised the fear of a major trade war and price rise in the US.
Earlier in January, a top Chinese official warned Trump against protectionism saying the country was looking for a "win-win" solution to trade tensions.
On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "It's not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act."
Canada and Mexico have already said they would retaliate to the US tariffs with measures of their own.
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