HousingWireHousingWire
President Donald Trump said on Monday that 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada would start Tuesday, March 4, the Associated Press reported. And there’s no going back on it, he said.
“Tomorrow — tariffs 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico. And that’ll start,” Trump told reporters this afternoon. “They’re going to have to have a tariff.”
Tariffs on China were also doubled to 20%, Bloomberg reported.
Trump paused 25% tariffs back in February on Canada and Mexico in exchange for concessions related to immigration enforcement and drug trafficking, but he recently announced the pause would officially end on Tuesday, March 4.
They include a tax on Canadian oil and electricity at a lower 10% rate.
The move is set to affect homebuilders greatly. Just last week, Trump issued a memo calling for “reciprocal” tariffs that would impose the same duties on a country that they have on the United States.
Trump has also floated a 25% tariff on all lumber imports, and he imposed a 25% levy on steel and aluminum, both of which hit U.S. homebuilders directly.
Trump’s comments Monday quickly sent a shock in the U.S. stock market, with the S&P 500 index down 2% in Monday afternoon trading.
Trump has said in the past the they are being used to force the countries to step up their fight against fentanyl trafficking and stop illegal immigration. However, he has also indicated interest in evening trade imbalance with both countries and encouraging factories to move to the U.S.
