President Donald Trump first announced the plan to impose tariffs on China in November 2024.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is considering imposing a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports in response to China’s failure to curb fentanyl trafficking into the United States.
Trump, who was sworn in for a second term on Monday, said that his administration could start implementing tariffs on products coming from China as early as Feb. 1.
“We’re talking about a tariff of 10 percent on China based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” the president told reporters at the White House. On the campaign trail, Trump had proposed a 60 percent tariff on all Chinese goods.
Trump also signaled that he may impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Feb. 1 over their failures to address illegal immigration and the fentanyl flow into the United States.
His remarks followed a memo he signed on Jan. 20, directing the U.S. trade representative and the Commerce and Treasury departments to review any unfair trade practices by other countries and recommend appropriate actions to remedy such practices.
The memo also directs the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate practices by the Chinese communist regime that may be deemed “unreasonable” or could “burden” U.S. commerce, and to recommend appropriate responsive actions.
It requires the Commerce and Homeland Security departments to assess illegal immigration and fentanyl flows from Canada, Mexico, and China, and recommend appropriate trade and security measures to address those problems.
Trump first announced the plan to impose tariffs on China in November 2024, stating that the Chinese regime had not done enough to help the United States stop fentanyl from flowing into the country. He mentioned that he had held numerous talks with Chinese officials about curbing drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl, into the United States, but China had failed to fulfill its promises.
“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, and drugs are pouring into our country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before,” he stated on Truth Social on Nov. 26, 2024.
