US president-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that he will impose new tariffs on goods from China using an executive order on the first day of his administration, which starts on January 20.
In a series of posts on his media platform Truth Social, Trump said he would add another 10 per cent tariff to all Chinese imported goods on top of the tariffs already in place, a legacy of the US-China trade war that played out during his first term.
Trump also said he would levy tariffs of 25 per cent on all Canadian and Mexican imports in a bid to force the three nations to bolster border security and crack down on fentanyl shipments to the US.
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“Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our country,” Trump posted.
“Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10 per cent tariff, above any additional tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States.”
It is not exactly clear how this latest threat dovetails with his campaign pledge to impose tariffs of up to 20 per cent on all imports and up to 60 per cent on Chinese imports. Canada, Mexico and China are the nation’s largest trading partners.
“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular fentanyl, being sent into the United States – but to no avail,” Trump wrote.
“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem,” he posted about illegal drugs made with Chinese ingredients. “We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price.”
According to a report released on Thursday by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Trump’s threatened across-the-board tariffs would cost a typical US household more than US$2,600 a year, with the burden falling disproportionately on lower-income Americans.
“When you get involved in these kinds of trade disputes, there are serious downsides and people get hurt, including in the United States,” said Keith Rockwell, research fellow with the Heinrich Foundation and a former WTO spokesman.
“It is more complicated to put across-the-board tariffs than to impose tariffs on an individual country or an individual product where the administration can say it’s a matter of national security.”
Trump’s threat follow a rapid roll-out of candidates for cabinet secretary positions and other top jobs, many of whom have hawkish views toward China, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state, Pete Hegseth for defence secretary and Mike Waltz as national security adviser.
Trump’s post on Monday is consistent with many of the patterns seen during his 2017-2021 administration, including threats made to allies and adversaries alike, policy by social media, and a blizzard of messaging that shocks and commands attention.
His earlier administration imposed tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium, including close allies Canada and Mexico, as well as competitor China, citing national security concerns.
Trump also leaned on Canada and Mexico in his first term to renegotiate a US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement to boost US manufacturing and improve compliance with labour laws.
And he targeted China with tariffs on US$360 billion worth of imported Chinese goods, before signing a trade agreement that largely failed in its purpose of guaranteeing Beijing purchase an additional US$200 billion in US goods.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Howard Lutnick named US commerce secretary and will ‘lead’ on tariffs and trade
- Xi’s South American tour: China takes centre stage as US heads for the wings
- Does China face a currency war as Trump taps Soros protégé Bessent for Treasury chief?
- US-China fentanyl cooperation deepens as Beijing tightens controls for precursor chemicals
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