On the campaign trail, Trump made it very clear that under his leadership, other countries will no longer take advantage of the United States. He is following through on that promise. On Thursday, he announced a Saturday deadline to impose hefty tariffs on all imports from Mexico, Canada, and China.
And those tariffs are moving forward.
“I was just with the president in the Oval Office, and I can confirm that tomorrow, the February 1st deadline that President Trump put into place, that a statement several weeks ago continues, 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,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Friday during the daily press briefing. “These are promises made and promises kept by the president.”
.@PressSec: "The president will be implementing tomorrow a 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." pic.twitter.com/lSoLuL9Lk5
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 31, 2025
Trump said that these tariffs will remain in effect until both countries undertake meaningful actions to combat illegal immigration and curb the flow of dangerous drugs like fentanyl into the United States.
These tariffs signify a significant expansion of how the U.S. is using trade policy to achieve geopolitical goals, ranging from combating drug trafficking to securing better terms for American workers.
Many on the left are predicting disaster because they always predict disaster because of what Trump does. As his senior trade advisor, Peter Navarro, told CNBC on Friday, similar predictions were made about Trump’s first-term tariffs, and the predicted apocalypse never came.
“Every one of those organizations, groups, and studies said the same damn thing about the Trump tariffs back in 2018, 2019: The sky was going to fall when we put them on China. The sky was going to fall when we put on steel and aluminum. And the sky didn't fall. In fact, the sky got real blue and bright, and it was morning again in America.”
Navarro continued, “We're going to have a golden age, America. So I don't believe those studies. I've seen too many Wall Street studies designed to spin things around and make it go the way they want to go, not the way President Trump and his country needs to go.”
"It's going to be a beautiful thing," he predicted, "a golden age."
His confidence points to a fundamental belief that protecting American interests will ultimately lead to economic prosperity.
As American voters watch these developments closely, the potential tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China represent a pivotal moment for U.S. trade policy. By addressing crucial issues such as public safety, immigration, and economic stability, the Trump administration looks to pave the way for a “golden age” of American prosperity.
Let's do this.
