President Donald Trump has announced that he is planning to hit goods from China with a new 10% tariff.
Imports from China already face taxes at the border of at least 10%, after a Trump tariff order that went into effect earlier this month.
President Trump also said on February 27 he intended to move forward with threatened 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, which are set to come into effect on March 4.
His comments came as officials from Mexico and Canada were in Washington for discussions aimed at heading off that plan.
Donald Trump had announced the plans for 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada for February 4 unless the two nations increased border security.
He paused the measures for a month at the last minute after the two countries agreed to increase border funding and talk more about how to combat drug trafficking.
On social media, President Trump wrote that he did not think enough action had been taken to address the flow of fentanyl to the US.
“Drugs are still pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels,” he wrote, adding that “a large percentage” of the drugs were made in China.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, at a press conference from the country’s National Palace, said in response: “As we know, [Trump] has his way of communicating.”
She added: “I hope we can reach an agreement and on March 4 we can announce something else.”
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau also said his country was working hard to reach a deal, warning tariffs from the US would prompt an “immediate and extremely strong response”.
Donald Trump’s threats against Mexico and Canada have raised widespread alarm, as the North American economy is closely connected after decades of operating under a free trade agreement.
Leaders of the two countries have previously said they would impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States if the White House went ahead with its plans.
Tariffs are a tax collected by the government and paid for by the business bringing the goods into the country.
China, Mexico and Canada are America’s top three trade partners, together accounting for more than 40% of imports into the US last year.
Economists have warned tariffs on goods from the three countries could lead to higher prices in the US on everything from iPhones to avocados.
Donald Trump’s call for an additional 10% levy on goods from China – which he said would also go into effect on Tuesday – had not been previously announced, though during his presidential campaign he backed border taxes on Chinese products of as much as 60%.
On February 27, as tariff talks intensified, two imprisoned alleged leaders of the violent Zetas cartel long sought by the US – Miguel Angel Trevino Morales and his brother Oscar – were extradited.
Mexican media said they were part of a larger group of drug lords sent from Mexico to the US – a major step in terms of US-Mexico security relations.
