United States President Donald Trump announced that tariffs on products coming from Mexico and Canada will remain in place despite the agreed pause, and will now come into effect on April 2. During a cabinet meeting in Washington, Trump stated that he would delay the imposition of tariffs for one more month, indicating that he would not stop this measure despite changing the start date.
In the Oval Office of the White House, the president mentioned that the tariffs would continue as planned starting April 2, specifically addressing the issue of fentanyl trafficking, which led to the decision to apply these taxes to Mexico and Canada. Trump declared, 'We lose 300,000 people a year to fentanyl... tariffs will be applied on April 2... and I believe we will see something amazing.'
This announcement of the delay came after Trump reported that the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada would take effect on March 4, following a prior agreement to postpone taxes with these countries. Despite the backlash to this decision, the president reiterated the importance of maintaining tariffs to address the fentanyl issue and its consequences.
In his statements, Trump mentioned the devastation caused by fentanyl, highlighting that it is a substance that leads to a significant number of deaths in the United States. Additionally, he pointed out that although this drug primarily comes from China, it also enters the country through Mexico and Canada, thereby justifying the imposition of tariffs on these countries.
