WASHINGTON — The White House said Friday that President Donald Trump will impose a 25% tariff on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, as well as a 10% tariff on those from China on Saturday.
Trump’s move to impose tariffs on three of America’s largest trading partners could potentially lead to increased prices for millions of Americans.
Trump had said on the campaign trail that he would impose those tariffs on the first day of his presidency. However, on Inauguration Day, he clarified that the tariffs would be implemented on February 1st. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Friday that Trump would stick to the February 1st deadline.
“President Trump is going to do everything he possibly can to cut the inflation crisis that the previous administration imposed on the American people, and he will continue to effectively utilize tariffs,” Leavitt said.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump also said he would place tariffs on oil and gas next month.
“It’ll be a tremendous amount of money for our country, tremendous amount, these are big numbers,” Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office. “And in addition to that, and you see the power of the tariff, I mean, the tariff is good, and nobody can compete with us because we have by far the biggest piggy bank.”
Mexico and Canada have threatened to impose their own tariffs on U.S. imports, which could negatively impact American businesses that sell to these countries.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that he was meeting with U.S. and Canadian officials to try to prevent the tariffs from being put in place.
“If the President does choose to implement any tariffs against Canada, we’re ready with a response. A purposeful, forceful, but reasonable immediate response,” Trudeau said. “We won’t relent until tariffs are removed and, of course, everything is on the table.”
If the tariffs take effect, Americans could spend $830 more on average and pay between $0.40 and $0.70 per gallon for gas.
