Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed President Donald Trump’s tariffs on all imported goods from Canada, China, and Mexico go into effect on February 1:
REPORTER: Friends at Reuters are reporting that the president has made a decision on the Canada, Mexico tariffs, but that they want to actually be implemented until March 1. I was wondering if you could confirm that. And talk through some of the president’s plan.LEAVITT: I saw that report, and it is false. I was just with the president in the Oval Office, and I can confirm that tomorrow, the February 1 deadline that President Trump put into place that a statement several weeks ago continues. The president will be implementing tomorrow a 25% tariffs on Mexico, 25% tariffs on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans. These are promises made and promises kept by the president.REPORTER: The president yesterday said that last night he was planning to discuss whether an exemption would be made on oil imports. Do you have any information on what decision he made there, or will there be exemptions at all offered under this?LEAVITT: I don’t have an update or read out for you on the exemptions, but those tariffs will be for public consumption in about 24 hours tomorrow so you can read them then.
Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau said the country “is ready to respond.” From Fox News:
“The president is intent on doing this,” Leavitt said. “And I think Justin Trudeau would be wise to talk to President Trump directly before pushing outlandish comments like that to the media.”When asked if Mexico, Canada or China could offer any concessions to remove these new tariffs, Leavitt said Trump would decide at a later date. “If the president at any time decides to roll back those tariffs, I’ll leave it to him to make that decision,” Leavitt said. “The president is intent on ensuring that he effectively implements tariffs while cutting inflation costs for the American people.”
Republicans want to pass the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act, giving Trump the power to “impose trade taxes on both adversaries and allies.”
Democrats want to pass their own bill which “would block Trump from using emergency powers to implement tariffs, amid concerns that American consumers would end up footing the bill.”
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