The US government has officially implemented 25 percent tariffs on all imports from its two leading trading partners Canada and Mexico as of today, March 4, according to a statement made by the White House. Also, energy imports from Canada will be subject to 10 percent tariffs.
In early February this year, while postponing the tariffs in question, US President Donald Trump gave the Canadian and Mexican administrations 30 days to curb what he described as dangerous activities at the borders and to maintain border security. However, both administrations’ failure to act has led to the implementation of the promised tariffs, the statement reads.
In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that his government has worked relentlessly to address border security issues raised by Trump, even though Canada is not the reason for the problem. As a result, starting from March 4, Trudeau pointed out that Canada will impose 25 percent tariffs on $30 billion worth of US goods and on $125 billion worth of US goods in 21 days. Its tariffs will remain in place until the US government reverses its decision. Yet, if the US does not remove the tariffs, the Canadian federal government is in active discussions with provinces and territories to introduce several non-tariff measures.
A statement from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has yet to be released, though the media reports indicate that she has a “plan B” to retaliate against the US.
In the meantime, Trump had stated via his social media account that the US would double recently introduced tariffs on China to 20 percent, also on March 4. In retaliation, the Chinese Ministry of Finance has announced that it will impose 10-15 percent tariffs on food products from the US as of March 10 and that it will restrict exports to 15 US companies.