President-elect Donald Trump announced on Monday that he plans to immediately impose sweeping tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China.
The tariffs, which Trump will enact via executive order on his first day in office, will aim to pressure these key trading partners to strengthen border security and halt the flow of deadly fentanyl into the United States.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump outlined the plan: a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, which already face significant levies from his first term.
“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long-simmering problem. 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!” Trump declared.
The new tariffs underscore Trump’s hardline stance on immigration and drug enforcement, key pillars of his second-term agenda.
Trump has repeatedly pointed to Mexico as a primary transit point for fentanyl smuggled into the U.S., a crisis he says requires drastic measures.
Critics argue that such tariffs risk alienating close allies, but Trump’s supporters see them as a necessary step to protect American workers, sovereignty, and public safety.
“President Trump’s tariffs are not about punishing our neighbors—they’re about forcing accountability,” said a senior Republican strategist.
The additional tariffs on Chinese goods are consistent with Trump’s tough-on-China trade policies from his first term.
During that period, he imposed tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese imports to pressure Beijing into renegotiating trade terms and addressing intellectual property theft.
Trump has pledged to increase tariffs on Chinese goods to as much as 60%.
Trump’s announcement comes days after naming Scott Bessent as his pick for Treasury secretary.
Known for his expertise in markets and investments, Bessent will play a central role in implementing Trump’s aggressive trade agenda while seeking to manage potential market disruptions.
Financial markets and U.S. trading partners were shaken during Trump’s first-term tariff battles, but his administration argued that the long-term benefits outweighed short-term turbulence.
We’ve been allowing the rest of the world to take advantage of us since the end of WWII with unequal trade policies. We can’t sell a car in Japan or Europe, but they have significant shares of our market. Foreign trade groups are allowed to buy our congress, but we aren’t allowed to spend political money in their countries. And it’s OUR laws which allow this unequal trade. Laws passed by a congress taking money from the people benefiting from robbing us.