From today, February 1, the United States is imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, along with an additional 10% tariff on China, White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said, but she refused to specify whether there will be exceptions for some of the goods, Reuters reported, quoted by BNR.
"The tariffs come into effect from February 1, and the reason for this is that both Canada and Mexico have allowed an unprecedented invasion of illegal fentanyl that is killing American citizens and also illegal immigrants into our country," Levitt said.
She also said during a press briefing that information from Reuters earlier in the day, which stated that the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico had been postponed until March 1, was "false", reiterating that they would take effect on February 1 (Saturday).
"The president is imposing a 25% tariff on Mexico, a 25% tariff on Canada and a 10% tariff on China because of the illegal fentanyl that they supply," she said.
Yesterday, Reuters reported, citing a US administration official, that Trump is expected to announce the imposition of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which will, however, take effect on March 1, while at the same time they will include the possibility for countries to seek specific exemptions for certain imports into the US.
Meanwhile, Caroline Levitt rejected "baseless allegations" Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the media that he would somehow remove tariffs on Canada.
"The President will implement these tariffs on Saturday and will respond to Mr. Trudeau's comments in a timely manner. Justin Trudeau would be wise to speak directly to President Trump before pushing such bizarre comments to the media," she said.
Earlier yesterday, Trudeau told the media that he was ready with a "targeted, strong but reasonable immediate response" if, or when, Trump imposes a 25% tariff on Canadian imports.
Wall Street stock markets reversed their positive direction after news of the tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China taking effect today, with the DJIA index down 0.7%, the broad-based S&P500 index down 0.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 0.12%.