"Time For Them To Pay Very Big Price": Trump Threatens China, Mexico, Canada With New Tariffs (image @ciieonline)
US President-elect Donald Trump said he will hit China, Mexico, and Canada with new tariffs on day one of his presidency. The move is said to be an effort to force them to crack down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the US. Trump said he would sign an executive order imposing a 25 percent tariff on all goods coming from Mexico and Canada after being inaugurated on 20 January 2025.
He said that an additional 10 percent tariff would be imposed on China until its government cracked down on fentanyl smuggling to the US.
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If the imposition follows through, it will mark a major escalation in tensions with Washington’s three top trading partners. The move will also pave the way for higher prices for Americans, since tariffs work as a form of tax on imports.
America is the world’s largest importer. China, Mexico, and Canada account for about 40 percent of the $3.2 trillion (£2.6 trillion) of goods it imports each year, as per official data.
After making the new tariff threat, Trump discussed trade and border security with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said Reuters. They had a “good discussion,” Canadian sources told the news agency.
“Mexico is the United States’ top trade partner, and the USMCA provides a framework of certainty for national and international investors,” said Mexico’s finance ministry.
Beijing has defended its efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs and has warned that there can be no winner in a trade war between the two.
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The Republicans’ new move has the potential to cause disruptions to the global supply chain and would hit the three countries targeted by the tariffs hard. The tariffs on Mexico and Canada will remain in place until the two countries clamp down on drugs, particularly fentanyl, and migrants illegally crossing the border, said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He added that both “Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long-simmering problem… It is time for them to pay a very big price!”
In his follow-up post on the platform, Trump attacked China for failing to follow through on promises that he said Chinese officials made to carry out the death penalty for people caught dealing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.
Speaking to the BBC, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said, “The idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality.”
“China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. No one will win a trade war or a tariff war,” he further added.
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Trump has threatened Mexico and China with tariffs of up to 100 percent if he deemed them necessary. He also added that he will end China’s most-favoured-nation trading status with Washington, the most advantageous terms the US offers on tariffs and other restrictions.
A tariff is a domestic tax imposed on goods as they enter the country, which is proportional to the value of the import. It has been a central part of Trump’s economic vision. The Republican sees it as a major way of growing the US economy, protecting jobs, and raising tax revenues. He has previously claimed that these taxes are “not going to be a cost to you, it’s a cost to another country.”
During his first presidency, Trump had imposed several tariffs, many of which were kept by his successor Joe Biden.
(With inputs from agencies)
