President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that his proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada will officially take effect on March 4, alongside an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports.
The 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada had been temporarily paused on February 3 for a month, creating uncertainty over their reinstatement. However, in a Truth Social post, Trump confirmed that the tariffs will move forward as scheduled, citing concerns over illicit drug inflows from both neighboring countries.
“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” Trump wrote.
In addition, China, which is already subjected to 10% U.S. tariffs, will face an additional 10% tariff on the same date. Trump also reaffirmed that the April 2 Reciprocal Tariff policy remains unchanged.
His announcement seemingly contradicted comments made earlier on CNBC’s Squawk Box by White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, who suggested that tariff decisions would be finalized after an April 1 study. Despite Hassett’s remarks, Trump’s statement signals a firm stance on trade policies ahead of the deadline.
Following Trump’s post, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures briefly turned negative as markets reacted to the confirmation of tariff enforcement.