US President Donald Trump says he will speak to Canada and Mexico’s leaders on Monday about the tariffs he is imposing on his two biggest trading partners – due to come into effect at midnight on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Trump announced import taxes of 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods, with Canadian energy taxed at a lower rate of 10%.
Canada and Mexico have both announced retaliatory tariffs of 25% on US goods.
Tariffs on EU will happen ‘pretty soon’, says Trump
Tariffs on EU goods imported into the US will happen “pretty soon”, says President Donald Trump.
“They’ve really taken advantage of [the US],” he says.
“They don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm products. They take almost nothing, and we take everything from the millions of cars, tremendous amounts of food and farm products.”
Asked by the BBC if there’s a timeline for announcing EU tariffs, Trump says: “I wouldn’t say there’s a timeline, but it’s going to be pretty soon.
“The United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world. We have deficits with almost every country – not every country – but almost, and we’re going to change it. It’s been unfair.”
UK ‘out of line’ on trade but situation ‘can be worked out’, says Trump
The UK is “out of line” in its trade with the US but the situation can be “worked out”, President Donald Trump says.
Asked by the BBC if he would target the UK with tariffs while arriving into Maryland from Florida, the US leader says: “We’ll see what happens, it’ll happen.”
Pressed further, he goes back on himself, saying “it might happen”, adding that his real concern is trade with the European Union. “It will definitely happen with the European Union,” he says.
He goes onto say that “the UK is out of line. But I’m sure that one, I think that one, can be worked out.”
Asian markets open lower after Trump tariff announcement
Markets in Asia are falling on Monday after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 25% on goods from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10% tax on imports from China.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.5%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 2% lower, South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 2.7% and Australia’s ASX 200 was 1.6% lower.
Markets in mainland China remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Meanwhile, the US dollar was showing strength. The greenback hit a 20-year high against the Canadian dollar, while China’s offshore yuan plunged to a record low.
Investors are facing huge uncertainty as other countries announce retaliatory tariffs on imports of US goods, raising the prospect of further escalation.