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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 UK Home Office has warned young travellers not to jeopardise their futures by accepting offers of free holidays or luxury trips from criminal gangs seeking to recruit drug couriers.
The warning released on July 17, 2026 on its website, issued by Border Force ahead of the peak summer holiday season, comes amid a sharp rise in cannabis smuggling through UK airports, with organised crime groups increasingly targeting school and university leavers, first-time travellers and young holidaymakers through social media.
According to the Home Office, the number of cannabis smugglers intercepted on arrival in the UK by air increased from 142 in 2023 to 976 in 2025.
In the first six months of 2026 alone, 600 air passenger couriers were arrested at UK airports, with men aged between 18 and 37 travelling from Thailand accounting for the largest group.
Border Force said criminal gangs “entice victims with promises of free luxury holidays, business-class flights and spending money” before coercing them into carrying cannabis into the UK.
As part of a nationwide awareness campaign at UK airports, Border Force has “advised travellers to refuse offers of free holidays or accommodation, particularly to destinations where cannabis is legal, including Thailand, Canada and parts of the United States.”
The agency also urged travellers to ensure they know the contents of their luggage, avoid carrying bags belonging to others, ignore approaches made through social media platforms, retain control of their passports and personal documents, and remember that bringing cannabis into the UK remains a serious criminal offence regardless of its legal status abroad.
Border Force Lead Officer for Safeguarding, Kate Goldstone, said: “Organised criminal gangs are exploiting young people for profit – living it up while leaving their courier victims facing lifetime consequences.
“Our message to young travellers is simple. If an offer feels too good to be true, it probably is.
“A single decision made before a holiday could lead to a criminal record, a prison sentence and years of lost opportunities.”
Border Force warned that anyone caught smuggling cannabis could face arrest, prosecution, a criminal record, up to 14 years’ imprisonment and restrictions on future international travel, with lasting consequences for employment and education.
The agency said cannabis seizures at UK airports have reached record levels, rising by 50 per cent over the past year. Seizures from air passengers increased from 2.1 tonnes in 2022 to more than 28 tonnes in 2025.
Although Thailand has emerged as a major source country, Border Force said “criminal networks also operate in other jurisdictions where cannabis is legal or more readily available, including Canada, the United States and parts of Europe.”
The warning coincides with the implementation of a joint UK-Thailand crackdown on cannabis smuggling.
Under the initiative, British nationals caught attempting to “smuggle cannabis from Thailand face average fines of about £17,700 or prison sentences of up to two years.”
Border Force urged anyone approached to transport cannabis or other illegal drugs to report the matter to local authorities, consular services or Crimestoppers.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday urged Cuba to immediately release more than 700 political prisoners, as a prominent Cuban dissident artist arrived in Miami after five years in prison.
Rubio confirmed in a statement the arrival in the United States of artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, and added: “We call for the immediate release of the more than 700 unjustly detained political prisoners held by the regime.”
“The international community must stop turning a blind eye to the human rights abuses of the Cuban regime and join us in demanding an end to their repression,” he said.
AFP
US forces launched strikes against Iran for a seventh night in a row on Friday, the US military said.
US Central Command, in a post on X, said the strikes, which began at 1900 GMT, were designed to “continue degrading Iranian military capabilities.”
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