President-elect Donald Trump promised on Monday that, on his first day in office, he would impose a 25% tariff on all goods imported into the United States from Mexico and Canada.
“As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump stated that on January 20, one of his first executive actions would be signing the necessary documents to impose a 25% tariff on all products coming from the United States’ North American neighbors.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until Drugs, in particular, Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” he wrote. “Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long-simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
Trump noted in another Truth Social post that he also would levy an additional 10% tariff on top of existing tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States.
“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail,” he wrote. “Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through.”
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Former President Donald Trump stated that additional tariffs on Chinese goods would remain in place until China took steps to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
During his presidential campaign, Trump consistently pledged to crack down on illegal immigration across the southern border with Mexico and to curb the influx of illegal drugs into the country.
He also vowed to declare a national emergency and deploy military resources to facilitate the deportation of a record number of undocumented immigrants.
While Trump claimed that drugs and crime had reached unprecedented levels, FBI data released in September 2023 showed that violent crime in the United States declined for the third consecutive year, including reductions in murder, rape, and assault.
Trump’s strategy of leveraging tariffs to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking has sparked debate.
Economists caution that imposing tariffs on imported goods could have unintended consequences, including driving up inflation, raising interest rates, and increasing costs for consumers.
Tariffs function as taxes on goods imported into the United States, potentially impacting the economy and households alike.
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