President Donald Trump will move forward with aggressive new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on Saturday, the White House said, affirming he will stick to his February 1 deadline for the new duties that could have widespread effects on the economy.
“We’re going to be putting tariffs on steel, aluminum, and ultimately copper. Copper will take a little longer, but it will happen quickly,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.
In addition to metals, Trump announced intentions to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals, calling it part of a broader strategy to revive US industries.
“We’re going to build a tariff wall to bring pharmaceuticals back to America,” he said. “The way to do that is by putting up a wall — a tariff wall.”
Both Mexico and Canada will face a 25% duty, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Friday’s briefing. The measures potentially could take effect as early as this month or next.
Here’s what else you should know about the proposed tariffs:
Impacts: Trump’s proposed tariffs could add $272 billion a year to tax burdens, according to Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay Cross-Border Solutions. The Peterson Institute has estimated Trump’s proposed tariffs would cost the typical US household over $2,600 a year.
Trump conceded Friday that there could be “short-term disruption” to everyday consumer prices due to the tariffs, but he dismissed market concerns around the move.
“There could be some temporary, short-term disruption, and people will understand that,” Trump said Friday when pressed by reporters on the cost of tariffs being passed on to importers — and therefore, consumers and not the outgoing country — and how he could expect everyday prices to come down.
“But the tariffs are going to make us very rich and very strong — and we’re going to treat other countries very fairly,” he continued.
Canada’s response: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that Canada would have a “forceful and immediate response” to Trump’s imposed tariffs. He added that he met with the Canada-US Council and is “working hard to prevent these tariffs.”
Canadian officials are expected to meet Friday with White House border czar Tom Homan in a bid to reach a deal that would stave off the proposed tariffs, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.
Canada’s ex-finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who is now running to replace Trudeau as leader of the ruling Liberal Party, said that Canada “must hit back — dollar for dollar — starting with 100% tariffs on all Tesla vehicles and U.S. wine, beer, and spirits” in a statement on X.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Canadian energy and natural resources minister, told CNN that Trump’s impending plan “makes very little sense.” As “countries that historically have been very much best friends. I find it very, very strange,” Wilkinson said. However, he said Canada is ready to respond, though he called it a lose-lose situation for both American and Canadian consumers.