President-elect Donald Trump has shared that the tariffs he long talked about on the campaign trail will be instituted on day one, starting with 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada.
Trump shared his intentions in a series of posts on his social media site Truth Social on Monday. In the post, he appeared to tie the tariffs to the flow of migrants and drugs into the United States.
“As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote in the post. “Right now a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently Open Border. 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.”
However, the tariff may just be an ultimatum, as the president-elect noted that they would be taken down, should certain standards be met.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem,” Trump wrote. “We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
In another post, Trump wrote that he would be placing a 10% tariff “above any additional tariffs” on all imports from China.
“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. Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote.
At one point during the last year, Trump had mentioned placing tariffs as high as 60% on all Chinese goods.
With Trump’s forewarning of the impending tariffs, countries now have a chance to respond before they are implemented, potentially offering some solution to another problem Trump has promised to solve: illegal immigration.
However, if the countries refuse to respond, experts have warned it could spark another round of inflation in an economy that is just now on the rebound.
More than $400 billion worth of goods are imported to the US from Canada every year, according to government data.