Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico go into effect
Published 8:04 am Tuesday, March 4, 2025
- President-Donald Trump. (Associated Press Archives)
President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies.
Starting just past midnight, imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25%, with Canadian energy products subject to 10% import duties.
The 10% tariff that Trump placed on Chinese imports in February was doubled to 20%, and Beijing retaliated Tuesday with tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of U.S. farm exports. It also expanded the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would slap tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. Mexico didn’t immediately detail any retaliatory measures.
Trump has said “it’s a myth” that U.S. consumers will be paying for the tariffs through higher prices. But businesses dealing with cross-border trade with Mexico swiftly raised prices Tuesday.
One Arizona business that distributes 5 million boxes of Mexican produce a year says that if U.S. consumers won’t pay, the tomatoes and other perishable vegetables will be left in the fields or stuck in warehouses. Industry-wide, Jaime Chamberlain predicts shorter supplies, and that means price-hikes.
The United States last year did nearly $2.2 trillion in the trade of goods — exports plus imports — with the countries the president is targeting: $840 billion with Mexico, $762 billion with Canada and $582 billion with China.
Energy imported from Canada, including oil, natural gas and electricity, will be taxed at a lower 10% rate — a concession to households in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest that depend on Canadian energy.
The following are just a few imported goods whose prices may be hit first: auto production, gas, computers, clothes, toys, tequila, Canadian whiskey and Mexican avocados.