By Reena Bhardwaj
Washington DC [US], February 1 : The White House confirmed on Friday that President Donald Trump will be slapping aggressive tariffs this weekend on major US trading partners including Canada, China and Mexico.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters in the briefing room that Trump will be leveling 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada as well as a 10% duty on China, in retaliation for the illegal fentanyl that these countries have sourced and allowed to distribute into US.
"25% tariffs on Mexico, 25% tariffs on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl that they have sent to our country, which has killed 10s of millions of Americans," Leavitt strongly asserted.
Leavitt also rubbished reports of tariffs from March 1 as termed by some media outlets and said they were false and Trump plans to impose on countries from February 1.
"These are promises made and promises kept by the president," Leavitt said. "Those tariffs will be for public consumption in about 24 hours tomorrow, so you can read them then."
Trump has repeatedly said he will follow through with his threat to hit imports from Canada and Mexico on 1 February. During the election campaign, Trump threatened to hit Chinese-made products with tariffs of up to 60%, but held off on any immediate action on his first day back in the White House, instead ordering his administration to study the issue.
Earlier, Candian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that their response to US tariffs will be "forceful but reasonable", The Globe and Mail reported.
"If the president does choose to implement any tariffs against Canada, we're ready with a response -- a purposeful, forceful but reasonable, immediate response," Trudeau told reporters before a meeting with his advisory council on Canada-US relations on Friday, The Globe and Mail reported.