Trump announces that he will sign an executive order to charge Mexico and Canada ‘a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States’
Trump has announced on Truth Social that he will sign an executive order charging Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff âon ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Bordersâ.
He writes:
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. This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!
Key events
âMexico and Canada remain heavily dependent on the US market so their ability to walk away from President-elect Trumpâs threats remains limited,â Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, and former US trade official, told AFP.
AFP reports that by citing the fentanyl crisis and illegal immigration, Trump appears to be using national security concerns as a means to break the USMCA trade deal, something that is usually allowed under the rules set by the World Trade Organization or in trade deals.
But most countries and the WTO treat national security exceptions as something to be used sparingly, not as a routine tool of trade policy.
Trump tariff deal appears to violate US-Canada-Mexico trade agreement â report
While migrant arrests reached a record during President Joe Bidenâs presidency, straining US border enforcement, illegal crossings fell dramatically this year as Biden instituted new border restrictions and Mexico stepped up enforcement, Reuters reports.
More than 83% of exports from Mexico went to the US in 2023 and 75% of Canadian exports go to the country.
Trumpâs threatened new tariff would appear to violate the terms of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade. The deal which Trump signed into law took effect in 2020, and continued the largely duty-free trade between the three countries.
Canada and the United States at one point imposed sanctions on each othersâ products during the rancorous talks that eventually led to USMCA. Trump will have the opportunity to renegotiate the agreement in 2026, when a âsunsetâ provision will force either a withdrawal or talks on changes to the pact.
Here is our full story on Trumpâs tariff threats:
Canada responds to Trump’s fentanyl, border comments amid tariff threat
More now from the statement from Canadaâs deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, released on Monday evening, which says that the country places the highest priority on border security and the integrity of its shared border with the US.
The statement did not mention the tariffs directly. It also said that the Canada Border Services Agency, the US Drug Enforcement Administration and US Customs and Border protection âwork together every single day to to disrupt the scourge of fentanyl coming from China and other countries.â
Trump and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau spoke on Monday night about trade and border security, Reuters reported, citing a Canadian source directly familiar with situation.
China responds to Trump tariff threat
More now on the statement from China.
In a statement, Liu Pengyu, a Chinese embassy spokesperson, said China had taken steps to combat drug trafficking after an agreement was reached last year between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.
âThe Chinese side has notified the US side of the progress made in US-related law enforcement operations against narcotics,â Liu said.
âAll these prove that the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality,â Liu said.
Neither the US nor China would win a trade war, the Chinese embassy in Washington said on Monday.
âAbout the issue of US tariffs on China, China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature,â Liu said in a statement.
âNo one will win a trade war or a tariff war,â Liu said.
The statement from Canadaâs deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, says that the US-Canada relationship today is balanced and mutually beneficial, particularly for american workers.
Meanwhile according to the Canadian source directly familiar with the situation who spoke to Reuters, Trump and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau had ‘âGood discusisonâ and agreed to stay in touch.
Canada says is places highest value on border security
Trump and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau spoke on Monday night about trade and border security, Reuters reports, citing a Canadian source directly familiar with situation.
Canadaâs deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, has released a statement saying that the country places the highest priority on border security and the integrity of its shared border with the US, Reuters reports. The statement does not mention the tariffs directly.
In the small island country of Samoa, lives have been forever altered by an outbreak of the measles in 2019 that caused at least 83 deaths and 1,867 hospitalisations, mostly of babies and young children. Thousands more fell sick.
The preventable illness was able to spread through the small, closely knit population of about 200,000 due to record low vaccination rates â stemming from a medical vaccination error, the Samoan governmentâs public health mismanagement, and fuelled by anti-vaccination sentiment, including by Donald Trumpâs pick to lead the US health department, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Michelle Duff reports from Apia for the Guardian:
China responds to tariff announcement: No one will win trade or tariff war
Chinaâs embassy in Washington has responded to Trumpâs announcement, saying that âno one will win a trade war or tariff war,â Reuters reports. More shortly.
While on the campaign trail in October, Trump described âtariffâ as âthe most beautiful word in the dictionaryâ, and made clear his intentions to reduce US companiesâ use of foreign goods and parts by raising their cost. The policy, he said, would strengthen the USâs international trade position and boost US job growth.
Robert Reich, former US secretary of labor, warned that the tariff doesnât work that way. âA tariff is basically a sales tax, raising the price of almost everything you buy. Itâs also regressive â taking a higher percentage out of the paychecks of working people than out of the wealthy,â he posted on social media.
Trump has previously pledged to end Chinaâs most-favored-nation trading status and slap tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60% â much higher than those imposed during his first term.
Trumpâs announcement on Monday of plans for tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico sparked a dollar rally. It rose 1% against the Canadian dollar and 2% against the Mexican peso, while US stock futures and share markets in Asia fell.
The Chinese economy is in a much more vulnerable position given the countryâs prolonged property downturn, debt risks and weak domestic demand.
Guardian Australiaâs Greg Jericho points out that America gets a large percentage of its cars from Canada and Mexico which, under the tariff plans announced today, would likely cost consumers an extra 25%:
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The billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackmanâs analysis of Trumpâs tariffs is that they âwill not be implemented, or once implemented will be removedâ and that Trump is using the threat of the tariffs as a âweapon to achieve economic and political outcomes, he wrote on X.
Ackman is a Trump supporter, who may, according to a report in Fortune, be involved in work carried out by the new Department of Government Efficiency that will be headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Missouri court upholds state law banning some gender-affirming health care
A Missouri court on Monday upheld a new state law that bans some gender-affirming health care for minors, the Associated Press reports, a victory for supporters of the ban as a multitude of lawsuits against similar bans in other states continue to play out.
Republican attorney general Andrew Bailey said in a statement that Missouri is the âfirst state in the nation to successfully defend such a law at the trial court level.â Bailey, who tried to ban minorsâ access to gender-affirming health care through rule change but dropped the effort when the law passed, is responsible for defending the legislation in court.
âIâm extremely proud of the thousands of hours my office put in to shine a light on the lack of evidence supporting these irreversible procedures,â Bailey said. âWe will never stop fighting to ensure Missouri is the safest state in the nation for children.â
Every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, has opposed the bans on gender-affirming care for minors and supported the medical care for youth when administered appropriately.
Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Missouri, which are representing the plaintiffs who sued to overturn the law, on Monday said they will appeal against the ruling.
Missouri is among at least 26 states that have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.
A Louisiana civil court judge on Monday halted state agenciesâ plans to forcibly clear homeless encampments in New Orleans, Reuters reports.
Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Ethel Julien issued a temporary restraining order blocking state police and two other agencies from evicting homeless people from their encampments in New Orleans or seizing their property without following city laws and due process.
Republican Governor Jeff Landry had called earlier this month for the City of New Orleans to remove a large encampment before Thanksgiving and warned he would intervene if the city did not comply.
âIf a judge believes that people have a right to be on whatever public space they choose, maybe that judge should have them move into her chambers and courtroom,â Landry said after the judge issued the restraining order Monday.
Louisiana State Police spokesperson Sgt. Katharine Stegall said the agencyâs legal team and the state attorney generalâs Office are reviewing the order.
State police have âpromptly halted activitiesâ and are âcomplying with the restrictionsâ of the order, Stegall said.
Landry and New Orleans officials have repeatedly clashed over how to address the issue of homelessness in the city.
New Orleans city councilmember Lesli Harris said Monday that directing more resources towards moving homeless people into stable housing was âinfinitely more effective than punitive sweepsâ of encampments.
âCoordination between the government and service providers on the housing of people is imperative, and continuously moving people only makes it that much harder to house them,â Harris said.
Jirari points out that the tariff on goods from Canada would affect building costs in particular.
She writes that the 25% tariff announced a short while ago by Trump,
Would spike building costs dramatically.
Key materials we rely on from Canada:
$105b in cement/minerals jumping to $131b
$28B in lumber/paper to $34b
$33b in metals/tools to $42BTotal hit: $41b more for same materials. Building just got pricier.â
Tahra Jirari, the director of economic analysis at an organisation called the Chamber of Progress, which describes itself as âa new tech industry coalition devoted to a progressive society, economy, workforce, and consumer climateâ, has reacted to Trumpâs tariffs, pointing out that they will lead to higher prices for consumers.
In a post on X she writes, âTrump vows 25% tariff on ALL Mexico/Canada imports if elected. This means higher prices for Americans. Tariffs = taxes that YOU pay at the store. Cars, food, electronics – all cost more. Even your grocery bill would jump. Companies canât absorb 25% – it hits your wallet.â
Trump announces plans for additional 10% tariff on goods from China over fentanyl concerns
On Truth Social, Trump has also announced that the US âwill be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of Americaâ.
He said that the reason for the additional tariff was Chinas failure to curb the number of drugs entering the US. His post on Truth Social says,
I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States â 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. 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter.