US President Donald Trump on January 31 said that he would impose 25 percent tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada and 10 percent on imports from China from February 1 onwards.
While signing executive orders at the Oval Office, Trump was asked if there was anything the nations could do to delay the tariffs. He replied, "No, no. Not right now, no."
Trump said the oil from Canada would be charged 10 percent tariff instead of the 25 percent tariff on other goods imported from the country. He however warned that wider tariffs will be imposed on oil and natural gas later in mid-February.
Notably, Trump has been threatening tariffs on several countries since the days of his presidential campaign. He had earlier warned that the tariffs will begin from February 1, and remain applicable until the countries took steps to control the flow of migrants as well as fentanyl over the US border.
While signing executive orders at the Oval Office, Trump said he understood that the higher tariffs could lead to higher costs being passed on to consumers and disruption in the short-term.
On being asked if his threats were being used as a bargaining tool, Trump said, "No, it's not ... we have big (trade) deficits with, as you know, with all three of them."
"It's something we're doing, and we'll possibly very substantially increase it, or not, we'll see how it is," Trump said. "But it's a lot of money coming to the United States."
Also read: US tariff worries may push rupee to all-time low before India budget
The US President further added that import taxes on European goods as well as on steel, aluminum and copper, and on drugs and semiconductors were being considered. "We're going to be putting tariffs on steel and aluminum, and ultimately copper. Copper will take a little longer," he said.
Earlier, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt had said, "The President will be implementing tomorrow 25% tariffs on Mexico, 25% tariffs on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans."
Trump's tariffs on the nations are expected to disrupt the financial markets. However, a Moneycontrol analysis of US trade data for the last 10 years showed that the decision could benefit India among other countries.
Read more about how Trump's tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico could help India
Notably, Trump has repeatedly threatened to imposed 100 percent tariff on BRICS nations including India if they attempted to create their own currency and replace the dollar.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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