President Donald Trump announced he is planning a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports on Feb. 1 over the country’s role in fentanyl trafficking.
“We’re talking about a tariff of 10% on China, based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “Probably February 1st is the date we’re looking at.”
When asked about a conversation he had with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of his inauguration this week, Trump added that “We didn’t talk too much about tariffs other than he knows where I stand.”
During his campaign, Trump threatened tariffs as high as 60 percent on goods from China. He recently pledged on Truth Social to create an “External Revenue Service” to “collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources.”
At a press briefing Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters that “We always believe that there is no winner in a trade war or tariff war,” according to Reuters.
In late November, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that he would implement such tariffs on Jan. 20 as one of his first Executive Orders and that the tariffs “will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
Those promised tariffs haven’t gone into effect yet, but on Monday, Trump did sign an executive order titled “America First Trade Policy.”
“The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Trade Representative, shall investigate the causes of our country’s large and persistent annual trade deficits in goods, as well as the economic and national security implications and risks resulting from such deficits, and recommend appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff or other policies, to remedy such deficits,” the order says.
“The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall investigate the feasibility of establishing and recommend the best methods for designing, building, and implementing an External Revenue Service (ERS) to collect tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues,” it adds.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post said he will institute tariffs on Russia if the yearslong invasion of Ukraine doesn’t come to an end.
Read Trump’s lengthy statement below:
I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin – and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX,” he said, referring to allegations from Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and others that he colluded with Moscow to defeat Hillary Clinton.
“We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process. All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE,” Trump wrote.
“If we don’t make a “deal,” and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with.”
‘We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!”
