President Donald Trump has said that tariffs on Mexico and Canada will be going forward as scheduled next week. Trump had used the threat of tariffs as leverage against the two countries to curb illegal immigration going into the US as well as the flow of fentanyl.
On Monday, Trump said that “the tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” during a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. The meeting with Macron surrounded the Russia-Ukraine war and other topics, according to Politico.
Trump threatened to implement 25 percent tariffs on both neighbors to the US, but once he got concessions from both Canada and Mexico on immigration as well as more border security assurances, Trump paused the tariffs for 30 days in order to work out a deal with the countries’ leaders.
They were originally going to go into effect on February 4, but will go into effect next week if nothing changes. Trump was asked by reporters if the deadline was still in place, to which he responded, “We’re on time with the tariffs, and it seems like that’s moving along very rapidly. We’ve been mistreated very badly by many countries, not just Canada and Mexico.”
Trump has also threatened “reciprocal tariffs” against other countries generally that have implemented the import tax on American goods. Trump has said those measures will go into place in April, and said in the press conference, “All we want is reciprocal—we want reciprocity, we want to have the same. So, if somebody charges us, we charge them, it’s very simple.”
Both Canada and Mexico have said they will retaliate to the US if Trump implements the tariffs, creating import taxes of their own on American goods. Aside from threatening the 25 percent tariff that Trump said earlier this year would be in place on all goods from Canada and Mexico, the president made an exception to only have a 10 percent tariff on oil and gas production from Canada.