President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he would take executive action to impose a 25 percent tariff on products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico in an effort to try curtail the influx of drugs and migrants crossing the border.
Trump then mentioned that an additional ten percent tariff would apply to China on top of any others.
“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail…,“ he wrote on Truth Social. ”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, who campaigned on aggressive tariffs despite many economists’ warnings about subsequent price increases for American consumers, would be violating his own 2020 trade agreement if he followed through.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), ensured that goods moving among those countries did so duty-free.
“The USMCA is the largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history. All of our countries will benefit greatly,” Trump said in Jan. 2020.
