Trump threatens to impose sweeping recent tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on first day in office

recent YORK — President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Monday to impose sweeping recent tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his attempt to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs. He said he would impose a 25% responsibility on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders.

The tariffs, if implemented, could dramatically raise prices for American consumers on everything from gas to automobiles to agricultural products. The U.S. is the largest importer of goods in the globe, with Mexico, China and Canada its top three suppliers, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.

Trump made the threats in a pair of posts on his Truth Social site in which he railed against an influx of illegal migrants, even though southern border apprehensions have been hovering near four-year lows.

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all essential documents to fee Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” he wrote, complaining that “thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” even though violent crime is down from pandemic highs.

He said the recent tariffs would remain in place “until such period as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”

“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute correct and power to easily solve this long simmering issue. We hereby demand that they use this power,” he went on, “and until such period that they do, it is period for them to pay a very large worth!”

Trump also turned his ire on China, saying he has “had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail.”

“Until such period 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,” he wrote.

It is ambiguous whether Trump will actually leave through with the threats or if he is using them as a negotiating tactic before he returns to the White House in the recent year.

Trump’s nominee for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent — who if confirmed, would be one of several officials responsible for imposing tariffs on other countries — has on several occasions said tariffs are a means of negotiation.

He wrote in a Fox information op-ed last week, before his nomination, that tariffs are “a useful tool for achieving the president’s foreign policy objectives. Whether it is getting allies to spend more on their own defense, opening foreign markets to U.S. exports, securing cooperation on ending illegal immigration and interdicting fentanyl trafficking, or deterring military aggression, tariffs can play a central role.”

Trump won the election in large part due to voter frustration over worth rise, but his threatened tariffs pose the hazard of pushing prices even higher for food, autos and other goods. If inflationary pressures boost, the Federal savings might require to keep its standard yield rates higher.

Trump’s threats arrive as arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico have been falling. The most recent U.S. numbers for October display arrests remain near four-year lows, with U.S. Border Patrol making 56,530 arrests in October, less than one third of the tally from October last year.

Meanwhile, arrests for illegally crossing the border from Canada have been rising over the history two years. The Border Patrol made 23,721 arrests between October 2023 and September 2024, compared with 10,021 the previous 12 months. More than 14,000 of those arrested on the Canadian border were Indian — more than 10 times the number two years ago.

Last week, a jury convicted two men on charges related to human smuggling for their roles in an international operation that led to the deaths of a household of Indian migrants who froze while trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border during a 2022 blizzard.

Much of America’s fentanyl is smuggled from Mexico. Border seizures of the drug rose sharply under President Joe Biden, and U.S. officials tallied about 21,900 pounds (12,247 kilograms) of fentanyl seized in the 2024 government distribution year, compared with 2,545 pounds (1,154 kilograms) in 2019, when Trump was president.

If Trump were to shift forward with the threatened tariffs, the recent taxes would pose an enormous test for the economies of Canada and Mexico, in particular.

The Canadian dollar weakened sharply in foreign swap markets immediately following Trump’s post.

During Trump’s first term, his shift to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, and reports that he was considering a 25% tariff on the Canadian auto sector were considered an existential threat in Canada. Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the globe, and 75% of Canada’s exports leave to the U.S.

The tariffs would also throw into question the reliability of the 2020 trade deal brokered in large part by Trump with Canada and Mexico, the USMCA, which replaced NAFTA and is up for review in 2026.

It’s ambiguous from Trump’s social media post how he would legally apply tariff hikes on those two pivotal U.S. trade partners, but the 2020 deal allows for national safety exceptions.

Trump shift throng officials did not immediately respond to questions about what authority he would use, what he would require to view to prevent the tariffs from being implemented and how they would impact prices in the U.S.

When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of recent duties in 2018 against the U.S. in a tit-for-tat response to recent taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.

Many of the U.S. products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports just $3 million worth of yogurt from the U.S. annually and most of it comes from one plant in Wisconsin, the home state of then-Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. That product was hit with a 10% responsibility.

The Canadian government, in a joint statement from Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and community Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc, emphasized the close connection between the two countries and said they will discuss the border and vast economic ties with the incoming administration.

“Canada places the highest priority on border safety and the integrity of our shared border. Our connection today is balanced and mutually beneficial, particularly for American workers,” the statement read.

Freeland, who chairs a special Cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations to address concerns about another Trump presidency, has said the president-elect’s commitment to launch a mass deportation and concern that that could navigator to an influx of migrants to Canada, is a top focus of the committee.

A elder Canadian official had said before Trump’s posts that Canadian officials were expecting him to issue executive orders on trade and the border as soon as he assumes office. The official was not authorized to talk publicly and spoke on state of anonymity.

Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department and Economy Department also had no immediate reaction to Trump’s statements. Normally such weighty issues are handled by the president at her morning press briefings.

Last week, a elder Chinese commerce official said higher tariffs on Chinese exports would backfire by raising prices for consumers. Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen also said China can manage the impact of such “external shocks.”

___ Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Mark Stevenson in Mexico City, and Fatima Hussein, Josh Boak and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this update.