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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Tuesday, but is still deciding those levels.
Lotnick said on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures” show that Mexico and Canada have done “a lot” to address Trump’s concerns about crossings, but not enough to address his concerns about the “death of American fentanyl.”
Lutnick said Trump was thinking “how he wanted to play with Mexico and Canada, it was a smooth situation.”
Lutnik said on Tuesday, Trump also vowed to impose a 10% tariff on China. Those tariffs are 10% tariffs he has imposed this month.
Trump has previously proposed a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada, but Lutnik said the figure may be lower. His remarks suggest that Mexico and Canada will make a final diplomatic effort to try to avoid measures, which Trump delayed once last month.
“He will think about it. He will put them on Tuesday. Canadians and Mexicans have been talking to him,” Lutnik said.
Mexico last week extradited dozens of prisoners to the United States, including drug traffickers who wanted since the 1980s, in an attempt to resist expected tariffs.
Trump also said he could expand his global trade war to Canada’s timber industry after directing the Commerce Department to investigate dumping into the U.S. market.
Meanwhile, China seems to have no room for manipulation by Tuesday.
“They either end the subsidy and end up making these ingredients from fentanyl, or ending up putting the tariffs there,” Lutnik said.
China vows to take countermeasures to defend its interests. Beijing said last week it strengthened controls on precursor chemicals and fentanyl-like substances.
“If they think they are going to retaliate, remember that they are selling much more than we sell to them,” Lutnik said.
In a poll released by CBS on Sunday, Trump had poor ratings in handling the economy, but did not get it on inflation.
51% of Americans said they endorsed his handling of the economy, but 46% said they approved how he dealt with inflation.
The survey found that Democrats and Republicans overwhelmingly hoped Trump would focus on the economy and inflation, but the percentage was much lower, believing that he was actually prioritizing these areas, focusing more on borders, tariffs and the federal labor force.
