CANADA/MEXICO – US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on Saturday of 25% on Mexico, 25% on Canada and 10% on China, says the White House. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the duties were in response to “the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed 10s of millions of Americans”. It is not yet clear whether the import taxes would include any exemptions on products such as oil. Trump said on Thursday the move also aimed to address the large amounts of undocumented migrants that have come across US borders as well as trade deficits with its neighbours.

Ms Leavitt told a news briefing at the White House on Friday: “These are promises made and promises kept by the President.” 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. US goods imports from China have flattened since 2018, a statistic that economists have attributed in part to a series of escalating tariffs that Trump imposed during his first term. (BBC)