In line with the promises made in the run-up to the election, US President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on two neighbouring countries, Canada and Mexico. The US is also likely to consider similar measures for China. The US President cited several reasons, including illegal immigration, smuggling of drugs, and the massive subsidies that the US gives to Canada and Mexico in the form of deficits for the tariffs.
"I will be putting the tariff of 25 per cent on Canada and, separately, 25 per cent on Mexico. We will really have to do that because we have very big deficits with those countries. Those tariffs may or may not rise with time,” said the president", Trump said.
Will oil exports attract tariff?
In response to a question whether he would include oil among the items subject to tariffs, he said, "We're going to make that determination probably tonight on oil. Because they send us oil. It depends on what the price is. If the oil is properly priced, if they treat us properly, which they don't.”
He alleged that Mexico and Canada have 'never been good' to the US on trade, adding that the two countries have treated the US "very unfairly" on trade.
Trump underscored that the US will make it up "very quickly" as it "does not need" the products that they have.
He added, "We have all the oil you need. We have all the trees you need, meaning the lumber. We have more than almost anybody in those two categories. In oil, we have more than anybody."
Trump asserted that the US does not need anybody's trees as it already has 'great lumber in this country.' He added, "We have to free them up environmentally, which I can do very quickly."
China may also be subjected to tariffs
The US President also said that he is considering measures against China for sending fentanyl into the US. He blamed Chinese exports as he said, "Because of that, they're causing us hundreds of thousands of deaths. China is going to end up paying a tariff also for that. We are in the process of doing that. We'll make that determination of what it's going to be."
Notably, fentanyl is an addictive synthetic opioid, and it presents the deadliest drug threat in the country, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
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