US: 25% tariffs on Mexico, Canada goods to take effect March 4 — Trump vows

United States President, Donald Trump, on Thursday confirmed that his administration’s proposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada will take effect on Tuesday, alongside an additional 10% duty on Chinese imports. 

The move, he said, is a response to the continued flow of deadly drugs into the United States from these countries.

The new tariffs on China, which follow a 10% duty imposed on February 4, come just as Beijing prepares for its annual parliamentary meetings on Wednesday, where it is expected to outline key economic priorities for 2025. 

The announcement also puts pressure on China to respond within a week, signalling an increasingly tough U.S. stance despite the administration previously backing down from the threat of 60% tariffs when Trump assumed office.

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Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said his decision to implement the tariffs was based on what his administration views as insufficient progress in stopping fentanyl from entering the U.S. 

“There are ongoing discussions with the Chinese, Mexico and Canada,” a White House official told Reuters. “We’ve gotten a good handle on the migration issue, but there are still concerns on the other issue of fentanyl deaths.”

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Mexico, meanwhile, extradited nearly 30 convicts to the U.S. on Thursday, including notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was convicted in 1985 for the murder of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, synthetic opioids—primarily fentanyl—caused 72,776 deaths in the U.S. in 2023. In January 2025, Customs and Border Protection agents seized 991 pounds of fentanyl at the southwest border, marking a 50.5% drop from the previous year but still a quantity sufficient to kill millions, according to the White House official.