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25% tariffs on Mexico, Canada begins today
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US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on Saturday of 25% on Mexico, 25% on Canada and 10% on China, says the White House.
But Trump said on Friday that Canadian oil would be hit with lower tariffs of 10%, which could take effect later, on 18 February.
The president also said he planned to impose tariffs on the European Union in the future, saying the bloc had not treated the US well.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Canada and Mexico duties were in response to “the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans”.
Trump has also repeatedly said the move was 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.
Earlier this month, a top Chinese official warned against protectionism as Trump’s return to the presidency renews the threat of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies – but did not mention the US by name.
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ding Xuexiang, Vice Premier of China, said his country was looking for a “win-win” solution to trade tensions and wanted to expand its imports.
China, Canada and Mexico are the top US trading partners, accounting for 40% of the goods imported into the US last year, and fears are rising that the new steep levies could kick off a major trade war as well as push up prices in the US.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday: “It’s not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act.”
Canada and Mexico have already said that they would respond to US tariffs with measures of their own, while also seeking to assure Washington that they were taking action to address concerns about their US borders.
The BBC has reached out to the Chinese embassy in the US for comment.
If US imports of oil from Canada and Mexico are hit with levies it risks undermining Trump’s promise to bring down the cost of living.
Tariffs are an import tax on goods that are produced abroad.
In theory, taxing items coming into a country means people are less likely to buy them as they become more expensive.
The intention is that they buy cheaper local products instead – boosting a country’s economy.
But the cost of tariffs on imported energy could be passed on to businesses and consumers, which may increase the prices of everything from petrol to groceries.
Around 40% of the crude that runs through US oil refineries is imported, and the vast majority of it comes from Canada.
On Friday, Trump agreed tariff costs are sometimes passed along to consumers and that his plans may cause disruption in the short-term.
Mark Carney, the former head of Canada’s and England’s central banks, told BBC Newsnight on Friday that the tariffs will hit economic growth and drive up inflation.
“They’re going to damage the US’s reputation around the world,” said Carney, who is also in the running to replace Prime Minister Trudeau as leader of Canada’s Liberal Party.
The death toll from Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes has risen to at least 188, with 971 people injured, National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez, said on Thursday.
Interim president Delcy Rodriguez had earlier said that round 30 aftershocks have been recorded following the two strongest quakes on Wednesday.
Authorities initially reported 32 dead and more than 700 injured.
The earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck the same area of Venezuela on Wednesday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), causing buildings in the capital to crumble and forcing the closure of the country’s main airport.
US President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that “the two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths.”
“The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly,” the American president wrote on his Truth Social platform.
An AFP journalist saw a 22-story building completely destroyed in the capital’s Altamira neighborhood, where people cried out relatives’ names as volunteers climbed over the rubble.
“We need flashlights,” one of them said.
The first quake, with an epicenter 21 kilometers (13 miles) west of the coastal town of Moron, occurred at 2204 GMT, USGS said. Within a minute, a 7.5-magnitude quake struck about 45 kilometers away.
“This earthquake was the second event in a doublet. This magnitude 7.5 mainshock was preceded by 39 seconds by a 7.2 foreshock,” USGS said.
The United States government has identified a Nigerian national among several individuals and organisations accused of facilitating financial operations for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as part of a broader crackdown on the group’s global funding network.
In a statement issued by the U.S. Department of State, officials said the action targeted three individuals and six entities operating across Europe, the Middle East, and West Africa, who are allegedly involved in moving funds used to support ISIS activities.
According to the department, the measures are aimed at disrupting the terrorist group’s ability to finance attacks and sustain its international operations.
“Under the leadership of President Trump, the United States is dismantling ISIS’s ability to finance terrorism around the world. We are cutting off the financial lifelines from around the world that enable ISIS to fund attacks, support its regional affiliates, and threaten civilians, including religious minorities,” spokesperson Thomas Pigott said.
The statement noted that the network spans France, Syria, Türkiye, and Nigeria, and is believed to have facilitated the cross-border movement of funds linked to the extremist group.
Officials alleged that the designated individuals include a France-based facilitator connected to explosives-related information shared with ISIS supporters, a Syria-based operator who reportedly used cryptocurrency to transfer funds internationally, and a Nigeria-based facilitator whose money exchange businesses were allegedly used as channels for ISIS financing.
The U.S. government said the designations are part of ongoing efforts to dismantle financial pipelines supporting terrorist organisations and to restrict their global operations.
Britain will have its seventh prime minister in 10 years after Labour leader Keir Starmer was ousted on Monday by his own party.
The party’s self-inflicted wound was a trend set by the Conservatives when they were in office.
Starmer announced his resignation on Monday following months of nose-diving poll ratings and manoeuvring by his own MPs.
Veteran Labour politician Andy Burnham has confirmed he will seek to replace him.
The main opposition Tories went through five prime ministers between 2016 and July 2024 when Starmer swept to power in a landslide general election victory.
The rapid turnover at the top prompted Starmer — before he became prime minister — to call for an end to the “chaos” of chopping and changing leaders.
After less than two years, Starmer has now met a similar fate himself.
Here’s what happened to his predecessors:
David Cameron (May 2010 to July 2016)
Britain’s decision to leave the European Union ended Cameron’s second term as prime minister.
After the country voted to leave in a June 2016 referendum, Cameron, who had campaigned to remain in the bloc, resigned.
Theresa May (July 2016 to July 2019)
Tolga AKMEN / AFP
May took over amid the fallout from the Brexit referendum after a long tenure in the notoriously difficult post of interior minister.
She called a snap election the following year to strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations, but the move backfired when her party emerged as the biggest in parliament but without a majority.
Unable to get her Brexit deal through parliament, the Conservatives suffered a drubbing in European Parliament elections in May 2019, leading to her resignation.
Boris Johnson (July 2019 to September 2022)
Johnson, a maverick politician famed for making a career out of breaking the rules, had to navigate the coronavirus pandemic and Britain’s departure from the European Union.
He led the Conservatives to victory in the December 2019 snap general election.
But weakened by scandals, he was eventually forced to step down following a cascade of resignations by ministers and aides.
Liz Truss (September 2022 to October 2022)
Truss was prime minister for just 49 days, the shortest on record, before being ousted over her disastrous tax-cutting mini-budget.
Her economic agenda spooked the markets and took the UK to the brink of financial meltdown, losing her the support of her own party.
Rishi Sunak (October 2022 to July 2024)
Sunak was at the helm for 20 months before losing the 2024 general election to Starmer, bringing to an end 14 years of Conservative rule.
He brought some stability following the Truss debacle but failed to stop bitter Tory infighting.
The privately wealthy former financier ultimately failed to connect with regular voters struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.
AFP
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