Washington, Feb 1: The U.S. will begin imposing blanket tariffs on goods imported from Canada, China, and Mexico this weekend, the White House announced Friday, according to a USA-based news portal.
Goods from Canada and Mexico, the two largest trading partners of the US, will be subject to a 25% duty starting Saturday, while Chinese goods will be subject to a 10% duty, Deseret News reported.
On Friday, Reuters reported that the tariffs would go into effect immediately, but collection of duties would start on March 1, after President Donald Trump’s self-imposed Feb. 1 deadline. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt disputed the report Friday, saying that the earlier deadline will hold.
“I saw that report, and it is false,” Leavitt said in the White House press briefing Friday. “I was just with the president in the Oval Office, and I can confirm that tomorrow, the February deadline that President Trump put into place in a statement several weeks ago continues.”
The tariffs are in response to “the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans,” Leavitt continued.
Trump has promised that the tariffs will be a source of revenue for the country, even suggesting that the U.S. will establish an “External Revenue Service” to collect proceeds from the tariffs. But some economists warn tariffs could severely worsen domestic inflation, and that the costs of the duties will be pushed back onto American consumers, Deseret News added.
The pending tariff actions could test the strength of America’s alliances with our North American neighbors. The tariffs would effectively suspend the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a free trade treaty negotiated by the Trump administration in 2018. Leaders in both Canada and Mexico have threatened retaliatory tariffs.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that Mexico has a “plan A, plan B, and plan C” in response to Trump’s tariff threat.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “No one—on either side of the border—wants to see American tariffs on Canadian goods. I met with our Canada-U.S. Council today. We’re working hard to prevent these tariffs, but if the United States moves ahead, Canada’s ready with a forceful and immediate response."
Much of Trump’s top administrative staff that oversees economic policy is not yet installed. Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury secretary, was confirmed this week, but Howard Lutnick, nominee for Commerce secretary, and Jamieson Greer, nominee for U.S. trade representative, have not been confirmed yet, added Deseret News.
Greer’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6.