US President Donald Trump is expected to decide on Monday what levels of tariffs he will impose early on Tuesday on Canada and Mexico amid last-minute negotiations over border security and efforts to halt the inflow of fentanyl opioids.
Trump has vowed to impose 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico, with 10% for Canadian energy. CEOs and economists say the action, covering more than $900 billion worth of annual US imports from its southern and northern neighbors would deal a serious setback to the highly integrated North American economy.
The tariffs are scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on Tuesday.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday signaled that Trump may not impose the full amount of tariffs, saying that the president would determine their exact levels.
Mexico and Canada have “done a reasonable job” securing their US borders and Trump is considering what the final tariff levels should be, Lutnick told Fox News.
“He’s sort of thinking about right now how exactly he wants to play with Mexico and Canada, and that is a fluid situation. There are going to be tariffs on Tuesday on Mexico and Canada. Exactly what they are, we’re going to leave that for the president and his team to negotiate,” he said.
Trump is also expected on Tuesday to raise fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese imports to 20% from 10% currently, unless Beijing ends fentanyl trafficking into the US, Lutnick said.
Trump on Sunday lauded a decline in illegal border crossings last month in a post, opens new tab on Truth Social, saying they were “THE LOWEST EVER RECORDED. THANK YOU!!!”.
Senior Canadian and Mexican officials on Friday met with Trump cabinet members to discuss their efforts to secure their borders, but Trump has cited insufficient progress in reducing fentanyl overdose deaths.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 72,776 people died from synthetic opioids in 2023 in the US, chiefly from fentanyl.
