President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to impose wide-reaching new tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada as soon as he takes office as part of the incoming president’s efforts to crack down on drugs and illegal immigration.
In a set of posts Monday evening on his Truth Social site, Trump wrote, “On January 20th, as one of my first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States.”
Trump said the new tariffs would stay in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular, Fentanyl and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
The president-elect also threatened to charge China an additional 10% tariff, “above any additional Tariffs” on all products entering the U.S. over concerns about drugs — including fentanyl.
Trump’s first post on Truth Social said the following:
“As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs to levels never seen before. Right now, a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently Open Border. On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States and its ridiculous Open Borders. This Tariff will 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 solve this long-simmering problem easily. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
In an additional post, Trump spoke of some unproductive discussions with Chinese officials about the fentanyl problem.
“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States — But to no avail. Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this, but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before. Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”