Trump says tariffs against Canada, Mexico coming Saturday
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President Trump on Thursday reiterated that tariffs are coming against Canada and Mexico on Saturday, though he said the scope of those levies is still up in the air.
Why it matters: Canada and Mexico are the top U.S. trading partners, and his ongoing tariff threats have sparked fears of an economically damaging trade war.
Catch up quick: In a question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump confirmed his previously stated plan to impose tariffs on Feb. 1.
- "Mexico and Canada have never been good to us on trade. They've treated us very unfairly on trade," Trump said, adding: "We don't need what they have."
- The U.S., Mexico and Canada have been joint parties to free trade agreements for decades, first NAFTA and then the USMCA.
Yes, but: The president left the door open to the possibility the tariffs would not be blanket levies on all imports; specifically, he said Canadian oil imports might be exempt.
- "We may or may not, we're going to make that determination tonight," he told reporters.
By the numbers: Trump has previously spoken of a 25% tariff on both countries.
- S&P Global Ratings, in a research report Thursday, said those levies would most affect the Mexican auto industry and the Canadian paper and rubber industries, among others.
- Both nations are expected to retaliate in some way if Trump goes ahead with his plan.
- The U.S. dollar rose to its strongest levels against the Canadian dollar in five years after his statement.
The intrigue: Trump had previously spoken of a 10% tariff on China as of Feb. 1, as well, but he wasn't as firm Thursday on proceeding with that levy.
- Instead he said he was "thinking about doing something" because of the alleged volumes of fentanyl coming to the U.S. from China.
- "China is going to end up paying a tariff also for that and we're in the process of doing that … we'll make that determination what it's going to be."
