By Janet H. Cho
President Donald Trump quashed hopes his proposed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico would be pared back, saying Monday there's "no room left for Mexico or for Canada" to make a deal before midnight.
Trump's 25% tariffs on goods imported from those two countries go into effect on Tuesday.
Trump said the tariffs are "all set" to take effect. He cited several reasons for the levies, including the continued flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
In addition to Canada and Mexico import levies, Trump signed an order increasing tariffs on China by another 10% starting Tuesday, blaming Beijing for its failure to tackle the fentanyl trade.
And Trump is teasing more to come. Earlier he took to his social media platform to hint at levies for agricultural imports a month from now.
Trump said American farmers should prepare to start making more agricultural products to be sold within the U.S.
Worries about tariffs sent stocks down sharply in afternoon trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down 650 points and the Nasdaq shedding 2.6%.
Lawmakers reacted to the tariffs. Rep. Nikki Budziski (D, Ill.) said that while they can be a useful tool to support American workers and manufacturing, "a blanket 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico will only raise costs for working families. Taking a sledgehammer to our closest trading partners is the wrong approach."
Rep. Shri Thanedar (D., Mich.), whose district includes Detroit, said: "Trump's tariffs will: Cost the average household $1,200 more per year, Kill manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Make buying a car more expensive, Drive inflation even higher. There's nothing 'America First' about hurting the American economy."
Trump raised the idea of more tariffs to come in a social media post around lunchtime. "To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!" the post said.
The White House press office told Barron's in an email that the president was referencing "the reciprocal tariffs that he previously promised will come on April 2nd."
When Trump first proposed these reciprocal tariffs in a memo last month, he said that the Commerce Department and U.S. Trade Representative would outline steps on how to adjust U.S. tariff rates to match the duties and economic barriers other nations have levied on U.S. goods, in the interest of fairness.
Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 03, 2025 16:34 ET (21:34 GMT)
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