United States–Canada–Mexico trade war | |||
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Date | February 1, 2025 (1 month, 1 week and 1 day) | – present ||
Status | Ongoing
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Parties | |||
Lead figures | |||
A trade war involving the United States, Canada, and Mexico began on February 1, 2025, when U.S. president Donald Trump signed orders imposing near-universal tariffs on goods from the two countries entering the United States. The order called for 25 percent tariffs on all imports from Mexico and all imports from Canada except for oil and energy, which would be taxed at 10 percent.
In response to the initial order, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would retaliate with immediate 25 percent tariffs on CA$30 billion (US$20.6 billion) of American exports, which would expand to CA$155 billion (US$106 billion) after three weeks. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico would enact tariffs and non-tariff retaliation against the United States.
Both leaders negotiated a one-month delay for the tariffs with the U.S. on February 3, one day before they were set to take effect, and agreed to increase border security with the United States. The U.S. tariffs entered force on March 4; Canada's retaliatory tariffs began simultaneously, while Mexico said it would announce its retaliation on March 9. On March 6, Trump delayed tariffs on goods compliant with the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April 2, which accounts for about 50 percent of imports from Mexico and 38 percent of imports from Canada.
Trump said the tariffs are intended to reduce the U.S.'s trade deficit with Canada and Mexico and force both countries to secure their borders with the U.S. against illegal immigration and fentanyl analogues. Trudeau and Sheinbaum called the U.S. tariffs unjustified. Trudeau suggested that Trump intends to use tariffs to force Canadian annexation into the United States. Both Canada and Mexico said that U.S. tariffs violate the USMCA, a free trade agreement ratified by the three countries in 2020 during Trump's first presidency. Economists have said the tariffs would likely disrupt trade between the three countries, upending supply chains and increasing consumer prices across North America.