U.S. President Donald Trump at his first cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday caused confusion when he said that tariffs on Canada and Mexico will now take effect from April 2 — a 30-day pause.
On Monday, Trump had said that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico would be delayed until March 4 in response to a question by a reporter at a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House.
But U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified that the original deadline of March 4 was still in place. He said Canada and Mexico had to show by early March that they had taken adequate measures regarding illegal border crossings and the flow of fentanyl to satisfy Trump.
“If they have, he will give them a pause — or he won’t,” he added.
On Thursday morning, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social: “We cannot allow this [fentanyl] scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled. China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date. The April Second Reciprocal Tariff date will remain in full force and effect.”
