WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The president says time has run out for America’s largest trading partners to make a deal to avoid tariffs.
“No room left for Mexico or for Canada. No, the tariffs. They’re all set,” President Donald Trump said Monday.
New 25% import taxes on goods from Canada and Mexico start tomorrow, after a month delay.
President Trump says he wants the countries to do more to stop the flow of drugs and illegal immigration at the borders.
“Just so you understand, vast amounts of fentanyl have poured into our country,” President Trump said.
The president’s tariff plan also imposes an extra 10% on China.
Some lawyers expect the plan to be challenged by importers. International Trade Law Attorney and Partner at Wiley Rein LLP, Tim Brightbill, says there is a law that lets presidents impose remedies in an emergency, but those are typically sanctions, not tariffs.
“This is arguably an aggressive, but defensible use of the law,” Brightbill said.
Some warn the tariffs could raise prices for consumers. A recent analysis by the Peterson Institute for International Economics says households could pay an extra $1,200 a year because of these tariffs.
Brightbill says it’s hard to say what the effects will exactly be, since the tariffs aren’t for specific items.
“Arguably, we’re in uncharted territory here,” Brightbill said. “So the question is whether or not those kind of economic effects might become more pronounced when they are broad based as opposed to specific.”
The president says tariffs will spur domestic manufacturing and help balance the trade deficit.
“Tariffs are easy. They’re fast. They’re efficient, and they bring fairness,” President Trump said.
Monday, he touted a new $100 billion investment from a private company to build chip manufacturing plants in the U.S.
The president says additional “reciprocal” tariffs will begin April 2. Those aim to match the tax rate other countries charge the U.S.
Read: Read More