Trump: 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada to start Tuesday

FOX 2 - President Donald Trump said Monday that 25% taxes on imports from Mexico and Canada would start Tuesday in the latest development of a possible burgeoning trade war among North American countries.

"Tomorrow — tariffs 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico. And that’ll start," Trump told reporters in the Roosevelt Room. "They’re going to have to have a tariff."

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Trump has championed the tariffs as a punishment toward Mexico and Canada to better police fentanyl trafficking and stop illegal immigration. A secondary motivation he has said, is correcting the trade imbalance with hopes that corporations move factories back to the US.

The Trump administration also sees tariffs as a driver for corporations to re-invest in the US. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Monday that the large Taiwanese computer chipmaker TSMC had expanded its investment to the tune of $100 billion in the United States, because of the possibility of separate 25% tariff.

Trump's announcement - coupled with existing inflation concerns, shook the U.S. stock market, with the S&P 500 index down 2% in Monday afternoon trading. Critics point toward the possibility for increased inflation from the dependency of Mexican and Canadian products in the US.

The Trump administration had implemented a one-month delay in February as both Mexico and Canada promised concessions, adding that Monday that there was "no room left for Mexico or for Canada" to avoid tariffs, which also include taxing Canadian energy products at a lower 10% rate.

"If Trump is imposing tariffs, we are ready," said Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly. "We are ready with $155 billion worth of tariffs and we’re ready with the first tranche of tariffs, which is $30 billion."