White House confirms 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada starting this Saturday

U.S. President Donald Trump will implement a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, and a 10% tariff on goods from China starting this Saturday, as he has been threatening to do for several months, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed at the daily White House press briefing on Friday. Leavitt did not provide details about which products will be affected or how the measure will be applied.

Trump’s threats in recent days to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, America’s neighbors and trading partners in the USMCA agreement, had put American companies and consumers on alert about the possibility of a drastic rise in prices on products of all kinds, from avocados to gasoline, lumber and auto parts.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, Trump had again insisted that he would impose tariffs on Saturday, as a way to pressure the two neighboring countries to take tougher measures against the flow of immigrants and drugs into the United States. The U.S. president had also threatened 10% tariffs on Chinese products, which are already subject to the levies that Trump decreed in the trade war with the Asian giant during his first term, because of that country’s role in fentanyl trafficking.

Until the last minute, it remained unclear exactly which goods would be affected. On Thursday, Trump said he would decide whether oil would be included in the tariffs: the two partner countries export this fuel to the United States and analysts have warned that imposing tariffs could drive up the cost of gasoline, one of the products that average Americans use to measure their satisfaction with the state of the economy.

The U.S. president has also indicated that any tariffs he imposes could increase depending on the actions taken by Mexico and Canada.

Both countries have indicated that, should Trump decide to go ahead, they would take their own measures to tax American products in turn. A trade war between the North American countries would have consequences not only on their respective markets, but also on the rest of the continent and the world. Trade between the United States and Mexico in the first eleven months of 2024 was around $776 billion. Between the United States and Canada, it was $700 billion.

The U.S. president had been waving the threat of tariffs against his partners since his election campaign, and had continued to promise levies before his inauguration. Faced with the threat of more expensive products, American companies had developed contingency plans: in December, imports of products rose sharply, according to data from the Department of Commerce, in an apparent attempt to build up stocks before the tariffs came into effect.

Consumers have also tried to get ahead of rising prices. Official data show a surge in purchases of products such as television screens, of which Mexico is a major exporter.

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