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US President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.
The tariffs, if implemented, could dramatically increase the price of everything from gas to cars. The U.S. is the world’s largest importer of goods, with Mexico, China and Canada the top three suppliers, according to the latest census data.
Trump made the threat in several posts on his Truth Social page on Monday night (Tuesday morning AEDT) railing against the influx of illegal migrants, even as southern border crossings are at their lowest in four years.
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“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 their ridiculous open borders,” he wrote, complaining that “thousands of people are rushing through Mexico and Canada, bringing crime and drugs to unprecedented levels,” even as violent crime has fallen from the peaks of the pandemic.
He said the new tariffs will remain in place “until drugs, especially fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!”
Trump also turned his anger toward China, saying he “has had many conversations with China about the massive amounts of drugs, especially fentanyl, that are being shipped to the United States — but to no avail.”
“Until they stop, we will charge China an additional 10% tariff, on top of any additional tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States,” he wrote.
It is unclear whether Trump will actually follow through on the threats or use them as a negotiating tactic before he takes office in the new year.
Arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico are falling and remained at their lowest level in four years in October, according to the latest US data.
Border police made 56,530 arrests in October, less than one-third of the arrests made in October last year.
Much of the US fentanyl is smuggled from Mexico. Seizures of drugs at the border have skyrocketed under President Joe Biden, with US officials counting about 12,247 kilograms of fentanyl seized in fiscal year 2024, compared to 1,154 kilograms in 2019, when Trump was president.
Trump’s Treasury Secretary nominee, Scott Bessent, if confirmed, will be one of several officials responsible for imposing tariffs on other nations. He said on several occasions that customs are a means of negotiations with other countries.
He wrote in an op-ed for Fox News last week, before his nomination, that tariffs “are a useful tool for achieving the president’s foreign policy goals. Whether it’s getting allies to spend more on their own defense, opening foreign markets to American exports, ensuring cooperation in stopping illegal immigration and interdicting the fentanyl trade or deterring military aggression, tariffs can play a central role.”
If Trump were to move forward with the threatened tariffs, the new taxes would pose a huge challenge to the economies of Canada and Mexico in particular.
They would also cast doubt on the reliability of the 2020 trade deal, largely brokered by Trump, which is up for review in 2026.
Spokesmen for Canada’s ambassador to Washington and Canada’s deputy prime minister, Chrystie Freeland, who chairs a special cabinet committee on Canada-US relations that looks into concerns about the new Trump presidency, had no immediate comment.
Trump’s promise to launch mass deportation efforts is a major focus of the cabinet, Freeland said.
A senior Canadian official said before Trump’s announcement that Canadian officials expect Trump to issue executive orders on trade and the border as soon as he takes office. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mexico’s Department of Foreign Relations and Department of the Economy also did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. Usually, such difficult questions are resolved by the president at her morning press briefings.
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