Trump announces 25% Canada, Mexico tariffs to begin on Tuesday

President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will begin on Tuesday, causing financial markets to drop sharply. The new economic barriers are creating uncertainty across North America.

“They’re going to have to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they no tariffs,” Trump said at the White House. He added that there was “no room left” for a deal that would stop the tariffs by reducing fentanyl flowing into the United States.

Trump also announced that starting April 2, the US will place matching tariffs on any country that puts duties on American products.

The stock market reacted negatively to these announcements, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1.58%, the S&P 500 dropping 1.78%, and the Nasdaq Composite decreasing 2.47%.

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Business leaders and economic experts warn that these tariffs will seriously harm the connected North American economy, affecting over $900 billion worth of yearly imports from Mexico and Canada.

The tariffs will start at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time (06:01 am WAT) on Tuesday. Mexico and Canada will face 25% tariffs, though Canadian energy products will see a lower rate of 10%.

Mexican officials haven’t commented yet. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters that Canada would be ready to respond, saying: “There’s a level of unpredictability and chaos that comes out of the Oval Office, and we will be dealing with it.”

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on CNN that both countries had made progress on border security but needed to do more to stop fentanyl from entering the US.

Trump will also increase tariffs on Chinese imports from 10% to 20% on Tuesday unless China stops fentanyl trafficking into the US. These tariffs would affect about $439 billion worth of yearly imports. Lutnick didn’t mention any changes to these planned duties.