February 27, 2025:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says if the United States imposes tariffs, his country has billion of dollars’ worth of U.S. products that’ll be subject to tariffs as well. President Donald Trump says he plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday (March 4, 2o25) and double the 10% universal tariff charged on imports from China. The Republican president says illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at “unacceptable levels” and import taxes would force other countries to crack down on the trafficking. China’s commerce minister says differences on international trade should be resolved through negotiations. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says she hopes she and Trump can reach an agreement.
February 24, 2025:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday (Feb. 24, 2025) that his tariffs on Canada and Mexico are starting next month, ending a monthlong suspension on the planned import taxes that could potentially hurt economic growth and worsen inflation.
“We’re on time with the tariffs, and it seems like that’s moving along very rapidly,” the U.S. president said at a White House news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
While Trump was answering a specific question about the taxes to be charged on America’s two largest trading partners, the U.S. president also stressed more broadly that his intended “reciprocal” tariffs were on schedule to begin as soon as April.
“The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Trump said.
Trump has claimed that other countries charge unfair import taxes that have come at the expense of domestic manufacturing and jobs. His near constant threats of tariffs have already raised concerns among businesses and consumers about an economic slowdown and accelerating inflation. But Trump claims that the import taxes would ultimately generate revenues to reduce the federal budget deficit and new jobs for workers.
“Our country will be extremely liquid and rich again,” Trump said.
In a interview with Fox News late Monday, Macron said he hoped he had convinced Trump to avoid a possible trade war, noting the difficulty of taking on a traditional ally such as Europe while simultaneously using tariffs to challenge China’s industrial might.
“We don’t need a trade war,” Marcon said. “We need more prosperity together.”
Most economists say the cost of the taxes could largely be borne by consumers, retailers and manufacturers such as auto companies that source globally and rely on raw materials such as steel and aluminum that Trump is already, separately, tariffing at 25%.
Still, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum appeared confident Monday that her administration would reach agreements with the U.S. government before the deadline set by Trump.
“We would need to be reaching important agreements this Friday,” Sheinbaum told reporters Monday morning before Trump’s remarks. “On all of the issues there is communication and what we need is to complete this agreement, I believe we’re in a place to do it.”
If necessary, she said she would seek to speak directly with Trump again. In high-level discussions between both governments, Mexico has insisted that the U.S. also take a hard look at the drug distribution and consumption in its own country rather than pointing only at production in Mexico, Sheinbaum said.
Companies like Walmart have warned about uncertainty, while the University of Michigan’s latest consumer sentiment index plunged by roughly 10% over the past month in part due to fears about tariffs and inflation worsening. In the 2024 presidential election, voters backed Trump on the belief that he could cool inflation that had spiked to a four-decade high in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic during President Joe Biden’s time in office.
But Trump has persistently threatened tariffs and kept up those calls even as Macron, standing beside him, had previously suggested that talks on trade had produced some common ground.
“We want to make a sincere commitment towards a fair competition where we have smooth trade and more investments,” Macron said at the news conference, according to a translation of his French remarks.
Macron said the idea is to help the U.S. and Europe both prosper, saying that further talks would be carried out by their respective teams to flesh out their ideas.
Investors, businesses and the broader public are still trying to determine whether Trump is merely threatening tariffs as a negotiating tool or if he sincerely backs the tax hikes as a way to offset his planned income tax cuts.
Despite talks the Trump administration has held with Canadian and Mexican officials, the U.S. president signaled Monday that he would end the 30-day suspension of tariffs that were initially set to take effect in February. Trump plans to tax imports from Mexico at 25% as well as most goods from Canada, with energy products such as Canadian oil and electricity being tariffed at a lower 10%.
Trump is placing tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods with the stated goal of pressuring them to do more to address illegal immigration and the smuggling of illicit drugs such as fentanyl. While relatively little fentanyl comes from Canada, the country announced a czar to address the issue and appease Trump in addition to existing measures. Mexico has relocated 10,000 members of its National Guard to the border with the United States in addition to existing measures.
Trump also plans to impose new tariffs to match the rates charged by other countries. Set to begin as soon as April, the tariffs could be higher than what other countries would charge as subsidies, regulatory barriers and the value added tax — which is akin to a sales tax common in Europe — would be included in the calculations.
The possibility of retaliatory tariffs planned by Canada, Mexico and Europe could lead to a broader trade conflict that sabotage growth. In February, the Yale University Budget Lab estimated that the Canadian and Mexican tariffs could depress average U.S. incomes by $1,170 to $1,245 a year.
February 14, 2025:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has rolled out his plan to increase U.S. tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports. The Republican is possibly triggering a broader economic confrontation with allies and rivals alike as he hopes to eliminate any trade imbalances. Trump said Thursday (Feb. 13, 2025): “I’ve decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff.’ The prospect of a dramatic hike on tariffs could send shockwaves through the world economy, possibly depressing growth while also causing inflation to intensify. Most economists say the tariffs would effectively be a tax increase on U.S. consumers. Trump says he’s decided “for purposes of fairness” that he’ll charge reciprocal tariffs.
Story Body
February 5, 2025:
China responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs by implementing a 15 percent tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products.
The Associated Press says China will also impose a ten percent tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and large-engine cars imported from the U.S. Both the 15 and ten percent tariffs will go into effect on Monday (Feb. 10, 2025).
“The unilateral tariff increase by the U.S. seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization,” the Chinese State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement. ‘It is not only unhelpful in solving its own problems but also damages normal economic and trade cooperation between the U.S. and China.”
Some experts believe the limited reply of a 10 percent duty to President Trump’s tariffs is an attempt by China’s policymakers to engage the U.S. President in talks to avert an outright trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
February 1, 2025:
Story Body
January 31, 2025, update:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will put in place 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on goods from China effective on Saturday (Feb. 1, 2025), the White House said on Friday, but it provided no word on whether there would be any exemptions to the measures that could result in swift price increases to U.S. consumers.
Trump, a Republican, had been threatening the tariffs to ensure greater cooperation from the countries on stopping illegal immigration and the smuggling of chemicals used for fentanyl, but he has also pledged to use tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing.
“Starting tomorrow, those tariffs will be in place,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “These are promises made and promises kept by the president.”
Trump had said he was weighing issuing an exemption for Canadian and Mexican oil imports, but Leavitt said she had no information to share on the president’s decision on any potential carveouts.
The United States imported almost 4.6 million barrels of oil daily from Canada in October and 563,000 barrels from Mexico, according to the Energy Information Administration. U.S. daily production during that month averaged nearly 13.5 million barrels a day.
He has previously stated a 10% tariff on Chinese imports would be on top of other import taxes charged on products from the country.
January 31, 2025:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said his 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico are coming on Saturday (Feb. 1, 2025), but he’s still considering whether to include oil from those countries as part of his import taxes.
“We may or may not,” Trump told reporters Thursday (Jan. 30, 2025) in the Oval Office about tariffing oil from Canada and Mexico. “We’re going to make that determination probably tonight.”
Trump said his decision will be based on whether the price of oil charged by the two trading partners is fair, although the basis of his threatened tariffs pertains to stopping illegal immigration and the smuggling of chemicals used for fentanyl.
The risk of tariffs on Canadian and Mexican oil could undermine Trump’s repeated pledge to lower overall inflation by reducing energy costs. Costs associated with tariffs could be passed along to consumers in the form of higher gasoline prices — an issue that Trump placed at the center of his Republican presidential campaign as he vowed to halve energy costs within one year.
“One year from Jan. 20, we will have your energy prices cut in half all over the country,” Trump said at a 2024 town hall in Pennsylvania.
AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate, found that 80% of voters identified gas prices as a concern. Trump won nearly 6 in 10 voters who said they worried about prices at the pump.
The United States imported almost 4.6 million barrels of oil daily from Canada in October and 563,000 barrels from Mexico, according to the Energy Information Administration. U.S. daily production during that month averaged nearly 13.5 million barrels a day.
Matthew Holmes, executive vice president and chief of public policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said Trump’s tariffs would “tax America first” in the form of higher costs.
“This is a lose-lose,” Holmes said. “We will keep working with partners to show President Trump and Americans that this doesn’t make life any more affordable. It makes life more expensive and sends our integrated businesses scrambling.”
But Trump showed no concerns that import taxes on the United States’ trading partners would have a negative impact on the U.S. economy, despite the risk shown in many economic analyses of higher prices.
“We don’t need the products that they have,” Trump said. “We have all the oil you need. We have all the trees you need, meaning the lumber.”
The president also said that China would pay tariffs for its exporting of the chemicals used to make fentanyl. He has previously stated a 10% tariff that would be on top of other import taxes charged on products from China.
Oil prices were trading at roughly $73 a barrel on Thursday afternoon. Prices spiked in June 2022 under President Joe Biden to more than $120 per barrel, a period that overlapped with overall inflation hitting a four-decade high that fueled a broader sense of public dissatisfaction with the Democratic administration.
Gas prices are averaging $3.12 a gallon across the United States, roughly the same price as a year ago, according to AAA.
Later on Thursday, Trump threatened more tariffs against countries looking at alternatives to the U.S. dollar as a means of global exchange.
The president previously made the same threat in November against the so-called BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that sanctions against his country and others mean that nations need to develop a substitute for the dollar.
“We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,” Trump posted on social media.
Comments