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Trump to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs on Saturday

 

US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on Saturday of 25% on Mexico, 25% on Canada and 10% on China, says the White House.

But Trump said on Friday that Canadian oil would be hit with lower tariffs of 10%, which could take effect later, on 18 February.

The president also said he planned to impose tariffs on the European Union in the future, saying the bloc had not treated the US well.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Canada and Mexico duties were in response to "the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans".

Trump has also repeatedly said the move was to address the large amounts of undocumented migrants that have come across US borders as well as trade deficits with its neighbours.

Ms Leavitt told a news briefing at the White House on Friday: "These are promises made and promises kept by the President."

During the election campaign, Trump threatened to hit Chinese-made products with tariffs of up to 60%, but held off on any immediate action on his first day back in the White House, instead ordering his administration to study the issue.

US goods imports from China have flattened since 2018, a statistic that economists have attributed in part to a series of escalating tariffs that Trump imposed during his first term.

 

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