Donald Trump had pledged throughout his presidential campaign to levy tariffs of varying degrees on U.S. trading partners, as part of his promise to “put America first.”
Imposing import duties was a major policy plank during his first four-year term, and like now, he has also threatened them for non-economic reasons. In 2019, he threatened 5% tariffs on Mexico over the influx of migrants over the southern U.S. border but called them off after Mexico agreed to take steps to tighten border controls.
In the current case, the flow into the U.S. of illicit drugs, particularly fentanyl, was added to Trump’s mix of grievances with the three countries. The number of U.S. deaths from fentanyl overdoses declined in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although nearly 75,000 people still succumbed to the powerful opioid.
Some said the tariffs could be an opening bid for negotiation. “It leaves the door open to Canada and Mexico coming up with a credible plan over the next two months to try and avoid those tariffs,” said Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital Economics.
Trump’s plans regarding China were unclear since he previously pledged to impose tariffs of 60% or higher. On his social media site, President-elect Donald Trump spoke only of “an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America.”
TYT Newsroom
