Trump confirms 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada as of Feb. 1, with the only question mark being oil

Donald Trump materialized threats to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada with the announcement of a 25% tariff on products from these countries crossing the borders starting Feb. 1. The only remaining doubt is whether this measure will also affect oil or if it will be exempted. The president also noted that they are considering imposing an additional 10% on goods sourced from China over the next month.

In a meeting with reporters at the White House, the president noted that he decided to implement this initiative and "for a number of reasons" and "may or may not increase over time."

"Number one is the people that have poured into our country so horribly and so much. Number two is the drugs fentanyl and everything else that have come into the country, and number three are the massive subsidies that we’re giving to Canada and Mexico in the form of deficits. I’ll be putting the tariff of 25% on Canada and separately 25% on Mexico, and we’ll really have to do that because we have very big deficits with those countries."

Warning to China

Trump stressed, however, that he and his team have not yet decided what to do with the oil the U.S. imports from both countries. Although he assured that "oil is going to have nothing to do with it as far as I’m concerned," regarding the tariffs, he noted that the final decision will depend on whether the two nations "treat us properly" and "whether oil is priced appropriately."

In addition, Trump said Chinese products are also in the crosshairs: "With China, I'm also thinking about something because they're sending fentanyl into our country, and because of that, they're causing us hundreds of thousands of deaths. So China is going to end up paying a tariff on that as well, and we're in the process of doing that."