Watch Now


Trump orders steep tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, China 

Imports including avocados, oil, cars, water, electricity, lumber, auto parts — could see price increases

The U.S. imports everything from oil, electricity, water, lumber, agricultural goods, auto parts, electronics and more from Canada, China and Mexico. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Saturday that will impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with an additional 10% tariffs on goods from China.

Canadian energy imports will only be tariffed at 10%.

The tariffs were announced through Trump’s social media platform Truth Social.

“Today, I have implemented a 25% Tariff on Imports from Mexico and Canada (10% on Canadian Energy), and a 10% additional Tariff on China. This was done through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) because of the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our Citizens, including fentanyl,” Trump posted.


Trump did not say when the tariffs will take effect, but Canadian authorities said the duties on all three countries will be fully in force by Tuesday.

The import duties are aimed at forcing more cooperation from the countries on stopping illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the U.S., Trump said.

Both Canada and Mexico have said they are prepared to impose retaliatory tariffs against U.S. goods entering their countries if necessary.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that her country has prepared, “a plan A, a plan B and a plan C,” to respond to Trump’s tariffs, according to The Associated Press.


Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized Trump’s tariff policy for instigating a trade war with U.S. neighbors and allies Canada and Mexico. 

“We should be focused on going hard against competitors who rig the game, like China, rather than attacking our allies. If these tariffs go into full effect, they will raise prices for everything from groceries, to cars, to gas, making it even harder for middle-class families to just get by,” Schumer said in a news release

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a statement Saturday slamming the executive orders.

“The imposition of tariffs under IEEPA is unprecedented, won’t solve these problems, and will only raise prices for American families and upend supply chain,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President and Head of International John Murphy said in the statement.

Tariffs are taxes that are paid by businesses — not other countries — when foreign-made goods arrive at the U.S. border. In the U.S., tariffs are collected by Customs and Border Protection agents at 328 ports of entry across the country.

Mexico, Canada and China are the top three trading partners of the United States, with the U.S. importing everything from oil, electricity, water, lumber, steel, agricultural goods, auto parts, vehicles, electronics and appliances, medical instruments, beer and more. 

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) — the current free trade agreement between the three countries — was negotiated and signed into law in 2020 by Trump during his first term as president.

The USMCA replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Trump called one of the “worst” trade deals in history.


“I have long contended that NAFTA was perhaps the worst trade deal ever made,” Trump said during a speech in 2018. “Since NAFTA’s adoption, the United States racked up trade deficits totaling more than $2 trillion — and it’s a much higher number than that — with Canada and Mexico.”

Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, said tariffs are usually implemented only after they have gone through a period of review and public input from trade stakeholders.

“It’s unprecedented to announce new duties without a notification period. When implementing the 301 tariffs on Chinese goods during his last administration they gave companies (and CBP itself) 30 days notice before implementation,” Petersen posted on X.

Flexport is a global solutions provider founded in 2013 by Petersen and is based in San Francisco.

Petersen said the company is hosting a webinar on the new U.S. tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, on Thursday. The webinar already has 1,374 registrants.

Along with forcing more cooperation from Canada and Mexico, the tariffs are also part of the Trump administration’s America First Trade Policy, which aims to bring manufacturing operations and jobs back to the U.S.

Cheryl Druehl, a supply chain expert and a professor in the Costello College of Business at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, said that while tariffs will likely lead to increased prices for consumers, it’s unclear if they can help bring more manufacturing operations to the U.S.

“If the goal is to rebuild U.S. manufacturing, it’s not clear that will happen and certainly won’t in the near term,” Druehl told FreightWaves in an email. “Instead prices are likely to increase or potentially goods will become less available, and as prices increase fewer people will be able to buy them as the cost of goods increases.”

If Trump continues with tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China long term, it could potentially reconfigure supply chains to bring more suppliers and manufacturing to the U.S., Druehl said.  

“However, to do that, the U.S. will need to provide support, programs, and incentives for companies and labor,” Druehl said. “The loss of manufacturing jobs has resulted in less skilled labor. An example of needed support would be training programs at community colleges. Reconfiguring supply chains is not easy nor is it a short term action, as we saw during the pandemic with the tremendous efforts it took to ramp up medical supplies and other necessary items in the U.S.”

Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact nmahoney@freightwaves.com