US President Donald Trump has said that his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will go into effect on 4 March as scheduled because drugs are still pouring into the US from those countries.
Mr Trump also said he would impose an additional 10% duty on Chinese goods on that day - on top of the
10% tariff that he levied on 4 February on imports from China.
Mr Trump said drugs were still flowing into the US at "very high and unacceptable levels," with a large percentage of them the deadly opioid fentanyl.
"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," Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social media site.
"China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date."
The statement cleared up some confusion over deadlines for the punishing tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods that Mr Trump has threatened over the fentanyl crisis and US border security.
Mr Trump's comments on the matter during his first cabinet meeting yesterday seemed to suggest that he may push the deadline back for about one month until 4 April.
Comments from Trump administration officials indicated that the April deadline was for Mr Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" matching import duty rates of other countries and offsetting their other restrictions.
His trade advisers consider European countries' value added taxes to be akin to a tariff.
When asked about Mr Trump's plans to impose 25% tariffs on EU goods, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Government will take it "step by step".
"As I have said, the detail of every proposal is the key here and Ireland is a small open economy.
"In our view, free trade has created a rise in prosperity over the last 30-40 years. Which is unprecedented in world history," Mr Martin said.
He said it is Ireland and the EU’s view that tariffs "damage economies" and cause inflation.
Meanwhile, Kevin Hassett, the top White House economic adviser, told CNBC television that Mr Trump would determine new tariffs after a study is completed by 1 April.
"The schedule is that there's a study coming out on 1 April, and after that the president is going to decide what to do about tariff policies for all countries," he said, but specifically mentioning Mexico and Canada.
Meanwhile, Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard will meet with newly confirmed US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in an effort to head off the tariffs.
In Canada, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty has said that the progress Canada has made on tightening security along the border with the US and combatting drug smuggling should satisfy the Trump administration.
China, in a letter to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, said China and the United States should address concerns in economic and trade fields through equal dialogue and consultation.
