Donald Trump has promised a 25% tariff on products coming into the US from Canada and Mexico when he officially takes power as US president in January.
In a statement on the social media platform Truth Social, the US president-elect said that he would “sign all necessary all documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders” as one of his many first executive orders.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular, Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” he added.
He noted that the two countries have the ability to “easily solve this long, simmering problem.”
Experts have shared their concerns about the president-elect’s planned tariffs. Before Trump’s November re-election, TD highlighted the impacts of some of his proposed economic plans in a report.
According to TD, “a 10% tariff alone would be a “hard hit” to Canadians.”
“Our research shows that a full-scale implementation of the tariff plan could lead to a near-5% reduction in Canadian export volumes to the US by early 2027, relative to our current baseline forecast. Retaliation by Canada would increase costs for domestic producers and push import volumes lower in the process,” shared Marc Ercolao, an economist at TD, in the report.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impacts on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026. The minimal increases are well below potential GDP and translate into output levels that are 2.4% lower by the end of 2026 compared to baseline estimates.”
Monday’s announcement about tariffs comes as Canada’s premiers requested Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to hold an “urgent” first minister’s meeting ahead of Trump’s return to office.
No partnership is more important to Canadian workers and businesses than our partnership with the United States.
As Chair of the Council of the Federation and on behalf of Canada’s premiers, I’m calling on the federal government to convene an urgent First Ministers’ meeting to… pic.twitter.com/bYRbo8JLaK
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) November 25, 2024
In a letter to Trudeau, Ontario Premier Dog Ford, who chairs the Council of the Federation, stressed that a prompt meeting was needed to “discuss a Team Canada approach to engaging with the incoming administration, including on trade, secure borders, energy, defence and the strength of our cross-border supply chains.”
With files from Imaan Sheikh