Effective March 4, 2025, the United States implemented a 25% tariff on most imports from Canada and Mexico, and added an additional 10% tariff on imports from China. These new tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico were announced in a February 1st Executive Order by President Trump, however, implementation was delayed for one month while the countries negotiated over issues relating to border security – referenced in our previous alert here.
In response, both Canada and China have announced retaliatory tariff measures against the United States. Effective March 4, 2025, Canada implemented 25% tariffs on $30 billion in goods originating from the United States and additional tariffs to take effect in 21 days on another $125 billion of U.S. goods. Canadian officials have suggested they may ban the export to the U.S. of some Canadian products such as electricity and potash. News reports have indicated that Mexico will announce its tariffs on U.S. goods on March 9. China announced tariffs of 10% to 15%, effective March 10, on U.S. agricultural products including meat imported to China.
While the Trump Administration continues to negotiate with U.S. trading partners and has signaled that there may be some relief for certain categories of U.S. imports, including a delay in imposition of tariffs for automobiles and auto parts sold between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, for now, it appears that U.S. companies with import/export activity will need to factor tariffs into their strategic plans.
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