Trump threatens Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs

Donald Trump, currently preparing for his imminent arrival in the White House in January 2025, has named two new targets as part of his campaign promise to impose tariffs on goods imported into the US via other countries.

He is now forwarding to Canada and Mexico, which he accuses in the same breath of being migrant sieves.

JUST IN: President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to impose massive hikes on goods from China, Mexico and Canada on his first day in office.

— CNN (@cnn.com) 2024-11-26T00:28:59.387Z

Donald Trump made the announcement on his social network, Truth Social, stating that he plans to impose a 25% tariff on products imported from Mexico and Canada, presenting the proposal as a measure against the current fentanyl crisis in the US.

Trump claims that his decision to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada, the US’s two largest trading partners accounting for nearly 30% of the country’s trade volume, is, he says, driven by the need to combat illegal immigration, as well as crime and drugs crossing the border.

Trump claims in his post that all products from his border partners will be taxed because of “open borders”, which he deems “ridiculous”.

He adds that these tariffs will remain in place as long as drugs, naming “fentanyl” in particular, as well as “all illegal immigrants”, stop “this invasion of our country”.

Recall that these tariffs contravene an agreement between the three countries negotiated by Trump himself, namely the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), which was renegotiated during Donald Trump’s first term and came into effect in July 2020.

Among the goods traded commercially between the US, Canada and Mexico under this agreement, several important sectors will be affected by Trump’s decisions, including dairy products, paper products, wood building materials and the vehicle manufacturing industry.