BUSINESS

Donald Trump Imposes Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, And China

New duties will “make America rich and strong,” president vows…

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Fulfilling a campaign promise, U.S. president Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China on Saturday (February 1, 2025) – signaling the first volley in a trade war he vowed would make America “rich and strong.”

Trump announced the imposition of a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, and a 10% tariff on Chinese imports. He also pledged additional sector-based tariffs on aluminum, steel, copper, computer chips, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas and other products in the coming days.

Tariffs against nations belonging to the European Union (EU) are also in the works, according to Trump, who said the EU has “treated us so terribly.”

The first round of tariffs is expected to be signed by Trump on Saturday from his residence at the Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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For those of you unhip to global markets, tariffs are taxes “levied by governments on the value (including freight and insurance) of imported products,” per the International Trade Association (ITA). They are collected at the time of customs clearance in the foreign port.

Asked in the Oval Office whether there was anything these three nations could do to avoid the imposition of the new import duties, Trump laid down a gauntlet.

“No,” he responded. “Not right now.”

Mainstream media reports strongly implied Trump was bluffing – or planning to “slow roll” the launch of the tariffs – but those reports were debunked on Friday by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. According to Leavitt, Trump’s tariffs would proceed according to schedule in response to “the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country which has killed tens of millions of Americans.”

In addition to addressing the fentanyl epidemic, Trump is also demanding Canada and Mexico take steps to stem the tide of illegal migration into the United States.

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The scope of the new levies is massive – covering an estimated $1.3 trillion in goods versus the $600 billion in duties he imposed during his first term.

Democrats pounced on Trump’s acknowledgment that “there could be some temporary, short term disruption” in prices related to his policies.

“The problem for Trump will be getting prices to go down,” former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wrote on X. “Tariffs won’t help – quite the opposite.”

Purportedly conservative commentator Erick Erickson – a Nikki Haley devotee – also blasted the policy’s impact on his retirement investments.

“Thank you Donald Trump for announcing tariffs on Canada and Mexico,” Erickson wrote on X. “Really helped my 401K today. Hopefully, you’re just threatening and not actually doing.”

Trump pushed back at his critics, citing his first-term economic record of low inflation.

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In less than two weeks on the job, Trump has already leveraged tariff threats to get other nations to bend to America’s will. Earlier this week, Colombia buckled under the threat of tariffs and agreed to receive flights of illegal aliens being deported from the United States.

Also worth noting? Most of the tariffs imposed by Trump during his first term were retained by former president Joe Biden. In fact, Biden’s administration imposed additional levies last fall on electric vehicles, solar cells, EV batteries, steel, aluminum and ship-to-shore cranes from China, among other items.

Biden’s trade representative insisted those levies would “target the harmful policies and practices of the People’s Republic of China that continue to impact American workers and businesses.”

FITSNews has written extensively on the economic headwinds Trump is facing as he begins his second term. Will his tariff policies help or hurt America’s economy? We will have to wait and see…

What do you think? Vote in our poll and post your thoughts in our always-engaging comments section below…

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

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    Will Folks (Brett Flashnick)

    Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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    4 comments

    Nanker Phelge February 1, 2025 at 4:10 pm

    What a dope.

    Speaking of dope, it’s worth noting that Trump pardoned the Silk Road guy who was selling FENTANYL from his dark web site.

    Reply
    Frank February 3, 2025 at 11:26 am

    Why do you think he placed higher tariffs on our allies and lower tariffs on the Chinese? Could unelected co-president Musk (who makes half of his cars in China) have anything to do with that or is it just because Trump likes Xi, and wants to be like him? Maybe both?

    Reply
    Avatar photo
    The Colonel Top fan February 3, 2025 at 12:24 pm

    Hmm, Panama and Mexico have knuckled under, wonder how long it will be before those “hosers in the great white north” do?

    Reply
    River Top fan February 3, 2025 at 2:44 pm

    Canada will be a great 51st state.

    Reply

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