Trump "Tariffs to Be Pursued After Mexico and Canada Grace Period Ends"

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 24th (local time) that he will impose a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico on the scheduled date. Although the tariff imposition was postponed for a month as a gesture of goodwill, such as strengthening border patrol efforts by Canada and Mexico, he intends to reimpose it. Since next month marks the time when the tariff schedule proposed by the Trump administration will come into effect one after another, countries are expected to become even busier trying to avoid the tariff blade.

AP Yonhap News

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President Trump said at a joint press conference after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House in Washington D.C. that "once the one-month grace period expires, it will proceed as scheduled" in response to questions about the tariffs announced on Canada and Mexico. He did not answer when asked whether he believed Canada and Mexico had taken sufficient action to address border issues.

On the 1st of this month, President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, major U.S. trading partners, citing issues of illegal immigration and drug trafficking. In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the U.S. would strengthen border control measures, including expanding the scope of border enforcement. When the two countries showed willingness to cooperate in response to Trump's tariff threat, the tariff imposition was postponed for one month until March 4.

He publicly criticized the tariff policies of the previous Joe Biden administration. President Trump said, "We have been mistreated not only by Canada and Mexico but also by several other countries," adding, "Anyone who allowed this to happen to our country should be ashamed of themselves."

President Trump blamed the previous administration for signing trade agreements that allowed other countries to take advantage of the U.S., saying, "I read some of these agreements at night and ask myself, ‘Who on earth would sign something like this?’"

He also reaffirmed the need for reciprocal tariffs. When asked if he plans to raise tariffs on the European Union (EU), President Trump replied, "This is about reciprocity. Whatever they impose on us, we impose on them. So it’s not about raising tariffs."

Starting next month with tariffs on Mexican and Canadian products as the signal, the tariff schedule proposed by the Trump administration will come into effect one after another. U.S. tariff measures directly affecting South Korea are scheduled to be announced on March 12 for steel and aluminum, and as early as April 2 for reciprocal tariffs and automobiles.

Foreign media repeatedly warned about the side effects of the Trump administration’s tariff expansion policy. Bloomberg News expressed concern that tariffs on Canada and Mexico would hit the U.S.’s neighboring countries and major trading partners, shaking the entire continent’s supply chain and threatening key industries such as the automotive sector and energy.

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