U.S. president-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that on his first day in office he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10 per cent tariff on goods from China, citing concerns over illegal immigration and the trade of illicit drugs.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump said the tariffs would remain in place until the two countries clamp down on drugs, particularly fentanyl, and migrants crossing the border illegally.
On China, the president-elect accused Beijing of not taking strong enough action to stop the flow of illicit drugs crossing the border into the U.S. from Mexico.
“Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America,” Trump said.
Trump has previously pledged to end China’s most-favored-nation trading status and slap tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60 per cent - much higher than those imposed during his first term.
The Chinese economy is in a much more vulnerable position given the country’s prolonged property downturn, debt risks and weak domestic demand.
The dollar rose more than 2 per cent against the Mexican peso after Trump posted on his social media platform.
Mexico’s foreign ministry and its economy ministry did not have an immediate comment when contacted by Reuters.
The Chinese embassy in Washington, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to separate requests for comment.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Costas Pitas; additional reporting by David Ljunggren and Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Rami Ayyub and Jacqueline Wong)