Washington, Nov. 26, (dpa/GNA) – US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday said that, once he returns to the White House, he will impose high import tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada as well as additional tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump said on Truth Social, the social media platform he co-founded, that he would sign an executive order to that effect on his first day in office.
“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,” Trump said, adding that the tariff would remain in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem,” Trump added. “We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
The president-elect also said that additional tariffs of 10% are to apply to goods from China until drugs stop “pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico.”
“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail,” Trump said.
“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.”
China says ‘no winner in a tariffs war’
Shortly after Trump’s social media posts, China said there are no winners in trade wars.
“There is no winner in a tariffs war or a trade war. Nor will the world benefit from it,” Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said on social media platform X.
Liu added that China “stands ready to work with all parties to uphold true multilateralism, build an open world economy, support sustainable development, and brings countries together to address challenges, achieve common prosperity and build a community with a shared future for mankind.”
Outgoing US President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the fringes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru just over a week ago. There, Xi assured Biden that Beijing was willing to work with the new US administration under Trump.
During his first term in office between 2017 and 2021, Trump took a hard line on China, imposing duties on Chinese imports as part of his America First policy.
China responded with some countermeasures, such as export controls on key raw materials, but observers say it is now better prepared should Trump make good on his campaign promise to introduce far-reaching new tariffs on goods from China.
Biden, who succeeded Trump in the White House, also embraced protectionism. Not only has he largely retained Trump’s levies on Chinese imports, but he has also imposed new tariffs, for example on electric cars. While Biden has focused on specific industries, the tariffs announced by Trump are broader in scope.
Canada stresses its importance to the US
Canada meanwhile stressed its importance to the United States, shortly after Trump’s social media posts.
“Canada and the United States have one of the strongest and closest relationships-particularly when it comes to trade and border security,” said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Canada’s Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc in a joint statement, without mentioning Trump nor his posts from a couple of hours earlier.
“Canada places the highest priority on border security and the integrity of our shared border.”
The ministers stressed the “balanced and mutually beneficial” relationship between the north American neighbours: “Canada is essential to US domestic energy supply, and last year 60 percent of US crude oil imports originated in Canada.”
The statement also highlighted the cooperation between Canadian and US law enforcement “to disrupt the scourge of the fentanyl coming from China and other countries.”
“We will of course continue to discuss these issues with the incoming administration,” the ministers added.
During his first term in office, Trump had imposed tariffs on some products from Mexico and Canada including steel and aluminium. He repeatedly clashed with the two countries over the levies.
GNA