A White House fact sheet on the duties said they would remain in place "until the crisis alleviated," but it did not provide details on what actions the three countries would need to take to win a reprieve. The moves follow through on a repeated threat Trump has made since shortly after winning last year's presidential election, and they likely will trigger retaliation and risk igniting a trade war that could cause broad economic disruption for all countries involved.
The three countries are the top US trade partners, sparking fears that the duties will lead to higher prices. Provincial officials and business executives in Canada reacted with outrage, calling for forceful tariffs on imports from the United States. A senior Mexican official said Mexico would respond with retaliatory tariffs. Tariff collections are set to begin at But imports that were loaded onto a vessel or onto their final mode of transit before entering the United States prior to Trump has declared the national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act to back the tariffs, which allow the president sweeping powers to impose sanctions to address crises.
White House officials said there would be no exclusions from the tariffs and if Canada, Mexico or China retaliated against American exports, Trump would likely increase the US duties.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in an X social media post that Canada "now has no choice but to hit back and hit back hard. Nova Scotia's Premier Tim Houston said he directed that all alcohol imported from the United States be removed from the province's store shelves. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has previously threatened strong retaliation if Trump imposed tariffs, was expected to speak later on Saturday.
Mexico's Economy Ministry said it did not have an immediate comment. But a senior Mexican official told Reuters that Mexico would respond with retaliatory tariffs later on Saturday. The officials said Canada, along with Mexico, has become a conduit for shipments of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals, into the United States, via small packages that are not often inspected by customs agents.
