(LifeSiteNews) – Citing lack of action on drug trafficking as the main reason, U.S. President Donald Trump left no room for ambiguity, saying 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican exports will go into effect at midnight tomorrow.
Responding to a reporter Monday who asked if there was a chance a deal could be made, Trump said, “No room left for Mexico or for Canada.”
“No, the tariffs are all set. They go into effect tomorrow,” he reaffirmed.
Canadian energy exports to the United States will be subject to 10 percent tariffs, mostly due to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s direct advocacy with the Trump administration for her province’s oil and gas sector.
China will also be hit with an extra 10 percent tariffs on its goods, meaning its rate is now at 20 percent.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who only has a week left in office before the Liberal Party elects a new leader, has promised Canada will hit the U.S. with tariffs of its own.
Late last week, Trump hinted that a deal could be made in time for Tuesday to stop the tariffs. However, it now seems this will not happen.
In recent weeks, Trump has consistently talked of taking over Canada by economic force at the same time he has threatened to impose massive tariffs on the nation. This notion has been brushed off as not “real” by Canada’s defense minister, but other politicians have taken the threat seriously.
Canada was initially given a 30-day reprieve from 25 percent tariffs by Trump that were supposed to go in effect at the start of February after Trudeau promised in a call to increase border security and crack down on fentanyl at the border. However, Trump has imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum products.
All of Canada’s mainstream opposition political parties as well as some MPs have advocated for counter-tariffs, including in some cases extreme retaliatory responses such as taxing Tesla 100 percent, as advocated by Liberal MP and leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland.
Not all political parties feel counter tariffs are a good thing.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, People’s Party of Canada (PPC) leader Maxime Bernier said the best response to Trump’s threats of punitive tariffs is to not “retaliate” tit for tat, as other parties have suggested, but rather to get serious about border and immigration control to quell the drug trade.