Washington, D.C., February 26 – U.S. President Donald Trump announced during a Cabinet meeting that, starting April 2, the United States will impose a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and non-energy imports from Canada.
Trump also stated that the U.S. has decided to impose a 25% tariff on goods from the European Union, with an official announcement expected soon.
Tariff Imposition
On February 1, Trump signed an executive order to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada. Previously, he had declared on social media that the U.S. would levy a 25% tariff on all products from these two countries until the issues of drug trafficking and illegal immigration were effectively addressed.
Mexico and Canada’s Retaliation
On February 1, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded via social media, instructing Mexico’s Ministry of Economy to implement countermeasures, including both tariff and non-tariff measures, to defend Mexico’s interests.
On the same day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would impose a 25% tariff on U.S. exports valued at 155 billion Canadian dollars in response to the U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
Temporary Suspension
On February 3, Trump revealed that he had a “very friendly conversation” with President Sheinbaum of Mexico, during which both sides agreed to suspend the tariff measures for one month to allow further negotiations. As part of the agreement, Mexico agreed to immediately deploy 10,000 soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border to curb the inflow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the United States.
Trump also announced that tariffs on Canadian goods would be postponed for 30 days to allow time for a final economic agreement between the two nations. He stated that Canada had agreed to enhance security at the northern U.S. border and take action to stop the influx of deadly drugs like fentanyl into the U.S. Trump expressed his satisfaction with the initial progress.
Tariffs Set to Resume
On February 24, Trump reaffirmed that the tariffs on Mexico and Canada would be imposed “on schedule.”
Speaking at a joint press conference with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House, Trump was asked about the impending tariff deadline for Mexico and Canada. He responded that the tariff plan was proceeding as scheduled and appeared to be advancing “very quickly.” He further claimed that the United States had been treated “very unfairly” by many trade partners, not just Mexico and Canada, and that the U.S. had been “taken advantage of.”
Meanwhile, American economist and 2001 Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz told The Guardian that the U.S. government’s tariff policy had made the country “a terrible place for investment” and warned of potential stagflation, a situation in which economic growth stagnates while inflation rises. At the Munich Security Conference’s “Trade War and Peace” panel discussion, multiple business and political leaders criticized the U.S. for its frequent tariff threats. They argued that such unilateral and protectionist policies could trigger a trade war, ultimately harming the global economy.
