Trump’s plans for tariffs on two neighbors vital for US energy and auto imports threaten to spark a trade war among the signatories of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the successor to Nafta negotiated at Trump’s insistence during his first term. The pact governed the flow of US$1.8 trillion in goods and services trade, based on 2022 data.
US President Donald Trump said that he plans to enact previously threatened tariffs of as much as 25% on Mexico and Canada by Feb 1, reiterating his contention that the US’s two immediate neighbors are allowing the flow of undocumented migrants and drugs into the country.
“We’re thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada, because they’re allowing vast numbers of people,” into the country, Trump said in response to questions from reporters, as he sat behind the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk on Monday. “I think we’ll do it February 1.”
