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Trump says he will impose trade tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Saturday
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the latest from US politics and President Trump’s second week in office.
First up, Trump has repeated his threat to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, saying they will be introduced on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said the tariffs would begin at 25% and “may or may not rise with time”.
He also repeated threats to impose new tariffs on goods from China, citing its role in the fentanyl trade, and on the BRICS countries.
Stay with us for more on that and all the day’s developments.
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Trump’s comments on tariffs also covered China, who he accused of helping to fuel the opioid crisis in the US via imports of fentanyl.
“With China I’m also thinking about something because they’re sending fentanyl into our country and because of that they’re causing us hundreds of thousands of deaths,” he said.
“China is going to end up paying a tariff also for that and we’re in the process of doing that. We’ll make a determination on what it’s going to be, but China has to stop sending fentanyl into our country and killing our people.”
Trump has threatened to introduce a 10% tariff on all Chinese goods, having imposed tariffs on around $370bn (£298bn) worth of Chinese imports during his first term as president.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is significantly more powerful then heroin. It has legitimate medical uses for pain management, but is also used recreationally.
In 2020, the US Drug Enforcement Administration said China was the “primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail”.
Here’s more on those comments from President Trump threatening to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, two of the US’ largest trading partners.
He said he was making the threat “for a number of reasons” but that he wants both countries to do more to secure their borders to reduce illegal migration and the flow of fentanyl into the US.
Asked whether oil imports would be excluded from the tariffs, he said “we may or may not”, adding that it would depend on prices and whether the two countries “treat us properly.”
Canada and Mexico are the top two sources of US oil imports, accounting for 52% and 11% respectively in 2023, according to data from the US Department of Energy.
Trump says he will impose trade tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Saturday
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the latest from US politics and President Trump’s second week in office.
First up, Trump has repeated his threat to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, saying they will be introduced on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said the tariffs would begin at 25% and “may or may not rise with time”.
He also repeated threats to impose new tariffs on goods from China, citing its role in the fentanyl trade, and on the BRICS countries.
Stay with us for more on that and all the day’s developments.
