Trump threatens sweeping tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China from day one

The threat of higher food prices loomed larger for US consumers this week after Donald Trump’s announced that the country’s three biggest trading partners will face tariffs from day one of his presidency.

Trump said on Monday that he will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10 per cent tariff on China immediately after his inauguration on 20 January, in a bid to force them to crack down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the US.

Announcing the measures on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote: “On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 per cent tariff on ALL products coming into the US, and it’s ridiculous Open Borders.

He added that the tariffs would “remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem”.

If implemented, the tariffs would have a huge impact on the US economy and global trade. It would also threaten the US-Mexico-Canada agreement that Trump helped negotiate to replace the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) during his first term in office and put North American relations in a downward spiral.

If Trump follows through with the threats it will mark a major escalation in tensions with America’s three biggest trading partners.

In 2022, Mexico supplied 51 per cent of US fresh fruit imports and 69 per cent of vegetables imports in terms of value. That same year, Canada supplied 2 per cent of US fresh fruit imports and 20 per cent of fresh vegetable imports.

According to the Washington Post, the US imported US$476bn of goods overall from Mexico last year, including US$2.7bn worth of avocados alone.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington told the BBC that “the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the US runs completely counter to facts and reality.

“China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. No one will win a trade war or a tariff war”.