Donald Trump has pledged to impose tariffs on overseas agricultural goods within weeks, as the White House mulls whether to make good on a threat to hit Canada and Mexico with steep duties from Tuesday.
The US president claimed his administration would introduce tariffs on farm products from 2 April.
A string of such deadlines – including vows to hit Canada and Mexico with tariffs in January, and then February – have been delayed, however, as economists and business leaders urge caution.
“To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social network, on Monday. “Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!”
On Tuesday, Trump has said the US will impose a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on China, on top of the 10% tariff it imposed on China last month.
These duties “will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled”, he declared last week, until the fentanyl crisis “stops, or is seriously limited”.
Trump has reluctantly conceded that higher tariffs could lead to higher prices in the US, but suggested the impact will be worth the cost. He has brushed off calls to tread carefully, escalating threats to go further.
Tariffs are “an act of war, to some degree”, the billionaire investor Warren Buffett warned recently. “Over time, they are a tax on goods,” he told CBS News. “I mean, the Tooth Fairy doesn’t pay ‘em!”
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