Trump threatens to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China – The Irish Times

US president-elect Donald Trump threatens to impose drastic new tariffs Mexico, Canada And China once he takes office as part of his efforts to tackle illegal immigration and drugs.

If the tariffs are implemented, prices of everything from gasoline to cars could rise dramatically.

According to the most recent Census data, the US is the world’s largest importer of goods, with Mexico, China and Canada as the three largest suppliers.

Mr. Trump made the threats Monday evening in a pair of posts on his Truth Social site, railing against the influx of illegal migrants even as southern border crossings hovered at their lowest level in four years.

“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 entering the United States, and the ridiculous open borders,” wrote he, lamenting “Thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, pushing crime and drugs to unprecedented levels,” even as violent crime is down from pandemic highs.

He said the new tariffs would remain in effect “until drugs, especially Fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!”

Trump also turned his ire on China, saying he has had “many conversations with China about the massive amounts of drugs, particularly Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – but to no avail.”

“Until they stop, we will charge China an additional 10% tariff, above and beyond any additional tariffs, on all of their many products entering the United States of America,” he wrote.

The Chinese embassy in Washington warned on Monday that there will be losers on all sides if a trade war breaks out.

“The economic and trade cooperation between China and the US is of mutual benefit,” embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said on X. “No one will win a trade war or a #tariff war.”

He added that China has taken steps to combat drug trafficking in the past year.

It is unclear whether Trump will actually follow through on the threats or use them as a negotiating tactic before taking office in the new year.

Arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico have fallen and remained at their lowest level in four years in October, according to the latest US figures.

The Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests in October, less than a third of the number last October.

Much of America’s fentanyl is smuggled from Mexico.

Seizures of the drug at the border have risen sharply under President Joe Bidenand US officials counted approximately 12,247 kilos of fentanyl seized in the government’s fiscal year 2024, compared to 1,154 kilos in 2019 when Trump was president.

Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, would, if confirmed, be one of several officials responsible for imposing tariffs on other countries. He has repeatedly said that tariffs are a tool to negotiate with other countries.

He wrote in a Fox News op-ed last week, before his appointment, that tariffs are “a useful tool to achieve the president’s foreign policy goals. Whether it’s pushing allies to spend more on their own defense, opening foreign markets to U.S. exports, securing cooperation in ending illegal immigration and banning the fentanyl trade, or deterring of military aggression: tariffs can play a central role.”

If Trump were to continue with the threatened tariffs, the new taxes would pose a huge challenge to the economies of Canada and Mexico in particular.

They would also question the reliability of the 2020 trade deal, which was largely brokered by Mr. Trump and is due for review in 2026.

Spokespeople for Canada’s ambassador to Washington and his deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, who chairs a special cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations to address concerns about another Trump presidency, did not immediately comment.

Trump’s promise to launch a mass deportation is a top priority for the Cabinet committee, Freeland said.

A senior Canadian official had said before Trump’s posts that Canadian officials expect Trump to issue executive orders on trade and the border once he takes office.

The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations and Economic Affairs also did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. – PA