The US may impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada from February 1, Donald Trump said, as he signed a series of executive orders just hours after his presidential inauguration.
“We’re thinking about 25% over Mexico and Canada because they’re allowing a large number of people — Canada also abuses a lot — a large number of people in, and fentanyl in as well,” Trump said in the Oval Office on the night this Monday.
“I think we’re going to do it on February 1st,” he told reporters.
Trump did not set a date for possible tariffs on Chinese imports, saying it would be discussed later.
U.S. stock index futures fell following Trump’s threat, with S&P 500 futures swinging from a gain of about 0.5% to a drop of 0.5%.
The dollar, which had been pressured earlier by signs that Trump would not immediately launch tariffs against major trading partners, largely pared its losses.
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The Mexican peso and Canadian dollar were 1.2% and 1.1% weaker, respectively, against the dollar in early trading in Asia, undoing the previous day’s strong gains.
