Washington.- President Donald Trump said that 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada’s products will take effect on Tuesday, fueling the fears of a commercial war in North America and staggering financial markets.
Trump’s comments on Monday drastically dropped US actions in the afternoon operations. The Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar fell after their statements.
“They will have to apply tariffs. What they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case there would be no tariffs, ”Trump said in the White House.
Trump said that he still intends to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, despite the fact that his Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, said he was still being discussed how they would apply.
“Very important: Tomorrow will begin 25% tariffs on Canada and 25% on Mexico. So they will have to assume a tariff, ”Trump said.
He argued that both nations have no “margin” of negotiation to avoid tariffs: “There is no room for Mexico or Canada, no. The tariffs are ready and enter into force tomorrow, ”he said.
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The president also explained that, as of this Tuesday, an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports will enter into force, which will be added to 10% already applied on February 4, thus raising the 20% tariff load on those products.
These measures against China are added to the taxes imposed during Trump’s first mandate on more than 300,000 million pesos in Chinese products, most of which are still valid.
As justification to move forward with the imposition of tariffs, Trump cited fentanyl traffic, a powerful opioid responsible for thousands of deaths a year in the United States.
“Huge amounts of Fentanilo have entered our country from Mexico and, as you know, also from China, where Canada is sent to Mexico,” said Trump, who insisted that this drug “arrives from Canada and from Mexico.”
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It is expected that tariffs to Mexico and Canada enter into force at 12:01 EST Tuesday (11:01 pm time in central Mexico), the Trump administration confirmed in notices of the Federal Registry. From that moment on, the United States Customs and Border Agency will begin to collect 25% of Canadian and Mexican imports, with a 10% tariff for Canadian energy.
The Ministry of Economy said there would be no public response to the usual morning press conference of President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday. “We have a plan B, C, D,” he said earlier this Monday.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told journalists that Ottawa was ready to answer, but did not offer details.
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Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford told NBC that US tariffs and Canada’s reprisals would be “an absolute disaster” for both countries.
The China Ministry of Commerce promised on Tuesday against Washington’s decision, and urged the United States to “immediately withdraw” their tariffs, which he described as “unreasonable and without foundation, harmful to others.”
The Global Times state newspaper said previously that Beijing’s countermeasures would probably point to US agricultural and food products.
President Trump assured that tariffs will benefit American manufacturing, especially the automobile sector, which was harmed by the transfer of jobs to other countries with the entry into force of trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during the 90s.
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“It will be very expensive to take advantage of this country, steal money, jobs, our factories and businesses, and expect not to be punished. They are being punished with tariffs. It is a very powerful weapon, ”said Trump.
The president’s statements occur after his secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, indicated this Monday in an interview with CNN that Trump still had to make a final decision on tariffs to Mexico and Canada.
Initially, Trump had threatened to impose these tariffs on February 4, but decided to postpone its application for a month after Mexico undertook to deploy 10,000 members of the National Guard on the border with the US and Canada announced the appointment of a ‘Zar of the Fentanyl’, among other measures.
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Delegations from Canada and Mexico met on Friday with members of the Trump team to discuss their efforts to increase border security and recover fentanyl traffic, as the president had demanded. However, these negotiations have not worked.
With EFE information and Reuters
*This note was originally published at 2:18 p.m. and subsequently updated
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