US President signed an executive order on Saturday , except for Canadian energy resources which will face 10% in tariffs. The duties on Canada will take effect on Tuesday.
The document also imposes a 10% tariff on imports from China.
Further measures possible
According to the White House, the executive order includes a retaliation clause, meaning .
The move hits America’s biggest trading partners. In 2023, Canada and Mexico bought US goods and services worth $808 billion (€768 billion), according to the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.
At the same time, Canada and Mexico sent $1.01 trillion worth of goods to the US. The US trade deficit with Canada is over $40 billion, while the trade deficit with Mexico is over $162 billion.
US holding China, Mexico, and Canada ‘accountable’ for fentanyl crisis
Trump previously accused the two neighboring countries of failing to crack down on illegal migrants crossing the border into the United States and . In a statement, Washington also said China is to blame for the drug entering into the US.
“President Donald Trump is taking decisive action to protect Americans from the fentanyl crisis,” the White House posted in a statement on X.
“Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45. Today’s tariff announcement is necessary to hold China, Mexico, and Canada accountable for their promises to halt the flood of poisonous drugs into the United States.”
‘We did not want this’ — Canadian PM Justin Trudeau
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had met with the country’s premiers and the Cabinet and would also be speaking to Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.
“We did not want this, but Canada is prepared. I’ll be addressing Canadians later this evening,” Trudeau said in a post on X.
On Friday, Trudeau warned of a “forceful and immediate response” if the US followed through with the threat of tariffs.
Mexican president reject’s ‘White House’s slander’ and urges collaboration
“We categorically reject the White House’s slander against the Mexican government of having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of intervention in our territory,” said Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The Mexican leader said that her government had seized over 40 tons of drugs including 20 million doses of fentanyl over a four month period and said that ten thousand people had been arrested.
Sheinbaum stressed that Mexico did not want confrontation but rather collaboration and said “if the United States wants to combat criminal groups that traffic drugs and generate violence, we must work together in an integrated manner.”
Sheinbaum also said that she had ordered her economy minister to implement tariff and non-tariff measures to defend Mexico’s interests.
US fuel companies hoping tariffs gone soon
The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers Association (AFPM) said in a statement that it hoped Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on Canadian and Mexican oil and energy products would not last long.
The AFPM represents companies including Chevron Corporation, ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, Marathon Petroleum and Valero Energy.
“We are hopeful a resolution can be quickly reached with our North American neighbors so that crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals are removed from the tariff schedule before consumers feel the impact,” the group said in a statement posted on social media platform X.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce meanwhile said Trump’s decision was “profoundly disturbing” and that it will have “immediate and direct consequences on Canadian and American livelihoods.”
It added that the measures “will drastically increase the cost of everything for everyone.”
kb,jsi/dj (AP, Reuters)
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