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Trump vows big tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

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Trump vows big tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China
Donald Trump warned repeatedly during the election campaign that he would impose tariffs, but experts warn that the costs could be passed on to American consumers (Allison ROBBERT/AFP)

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he intends to impose sweeping tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, prompting a swift warning from Beijing that "no one will win a trade war."

In a series of posts to his Truth Social account, Trump vowed to hit some of the United States' largest trading partners with duties on all goods entering the country.

"On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 percent tariff on ALL products coming into the United States," he wrote.

In another post, Trump said he would also be slapping China with a 10 percent tariff, "above any additional Tariffs," in response to what he said was its failure to tackle fentanyl smuggling.

Tariffs are a key part of Trump's economic agenda, with the Republican vowing wide-ranging duties on allies and adversaries alike while he was on the campaign trail.

Both China and Canada issued swift responses, each calling their trade relationships with the United States "mutually beneficial."

"No one will win a trade war," Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China's embassy in the United States, told AFP by email, defending Beijing's efforts to curb fentanyl smuggling.

"China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature," Liu added.

Canada said it was "essential" to US energy supplies, and insisted the relationship benefits American workers.

"We will of course continue to discuss these issues with the incoming administration," said the statement from Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Trump's first term in the White House was marked by an aggressive and protectionist trade agenda that also targeted China, Mexico and Canada, as well as Europe.

While in the White House, Trump launched an all-out trade war with China, imposing significant tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods.

At the time he cited unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft, and the trade deficit as justifications.

China responded with retaliatory tariffs on American products, particularly affecting U.S. farmers.

The U.S., Mexico and Canada are tied to a three-decade-old free trade agreement, now called the USMCA, that was renegotiated under Trump after he complained that the US businesses, especially automakers, were losing out.

"Mexico and Canada remain heavily dependent on the US market so their ability to walk away from President-elect Trump's threats remains limited," Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, and former US trade official, told AFP.

By citing the fentanyl crisis and illegal immigration, Trump appeared to be using national security concerns as a means to break that deal, something that is usually allowed under the rules set by the World Trade Organization or in trade deals.

But most countries and the WTO treat national security exceptions as something to be used sparingly, not as a routine tool of trade policy.

Trump in 2018 cited national security justifications to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that targeted close allies like Canada, Mexico, and the European Union.

This led to retaliatory measures from the trading partners.

- 'Bet on China tariffs' -

Many economists have warned that tariffs would hurt growth and push up inflation, since they are primarily paid by importers bringing the goods into the US, who often pass those costs on to consumers.

But those in Trump's inner circle have insisted that the tariffs are a useful bargaining chip for the US to push its trading partners to agree to more favorable terms, and to bring back manufacturing jobs from overseas.

Trump has said he will put his commerce secretary designate Howard Lutnick, a China hawk, in charge of trade policy.

Lutnick has expressed support for a tariff level of 60 percent on Chinese goods alongside a 10 percent tariff on all other imports.

William Reinsch, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that that move was classic Trump: "threaten, and then negotiate."

"In terms of what might actually happen, I'd bet on some China tariffs going into effect. That's legally easier and politically more palatable," he said.

"On Canada and Mexico there was going to be a renegotiation of their trade deal (the USMCA) anyway in 2026."

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Trump's sharp immigration crackdown descends on 2 more cities: report

The Trump administration is preparing to expand its aggressive nationwide immigration crackdown by sending teams of Border Patrol agents – including armored vehicles and special operations personnel – into two additional U.S. cities, according to internal DHS documents reviewed by CBS News.

The plans mark the next phase of Trump’s controversial mass deportation campaign, which has already reached Chicago, Los Angeles, and other locations far from the southern border.

According to the documents and multiple U.S. officials, the next targets are Charlotte, North Carolina, and New Orleans, Louisiana, where Border Patrol agents are preparing to launch large-scale operations similar to the highly visible arrests conducted throughout earlier deployments.

In Charlotte, federal command centers are already being established, with operations expected to begin as early as next week, sources familiar with the planning told CBS News.

Once those operations begin, DHS is expected to shift focus to New Orleans, where as many as 200 Border Patrol agents may be deployed. Armored vehicles - including “BearCats" - have been requested for both cities, along with special operations teams, documents show. Internally, the operations have been given codenames: "Charlotte Web" and "Catahoula Crunch."

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, appeared to confirm the broader expansion during a Fox News interview Friday afternoon, while refusing to identify the specific cities involved.

“I’m not going to verify where we’re going,” he told host Will Cain. “We’re going to a lot of cities."

He added: “You’re going to see more operations in more major cities, mainly sanctuary cities, cause that’s where our biggest problem is.”

Previous operations have sparked protests, accusations of excessive force, and fierce local pushback in the cities that have already been targeted.

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Trump lawyers shock with claim fentanyl is a chemical weapon in military memo

A newly revealed memo reported by the Wall Street Journal justifying the Trump administration's series of military strikes on boats in international Caribbean waters declares fentanyl to be a chemical weapons threat.

However, the memo stops just short of actually citing this supposed chemical weapons threat as one of the justifications.

"The lengthy document by the department’s Office of Legal Counsel outlines the Trump administration’s still-secret legal justification for the continuing military operation, which has sparked sharp criticism from Democrats and some Republicans since the strikes began in September," said the report. "The main argument in the memo is that President Trump’s designation of drug cartels as foreign terrorists makes them legitimate military targets, asserting that the groups are smuggling drugs to fund deadly and destabilizing actions against the U.S. and its allies, according to lawmakers and others who have read it."

However, the memo also lists fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid that is known for triggering accidental overdoses from contamination in other drugs, as a possible chemical weapon.

According to the report, "the brief also asserts the U.S. is involved in a noninternational armed conflict with the cartels, a legal term denoting one within the territory of a single state. Since it is a legal fight, the memo argues, U.S. military personnel involved are acting lawfully and wouldn’t be subject to future prosecution, several people who have read it say."

This comes after other reports that a memo justifying the strikes relied on talking points from the White House, arguing that drug traffickers are terrorists deliberately trying to finance international violence.

The Pentagon has admitted it doesn't positively identify the people killed in the targeted strikes, which run contrary to decades of international law and U.S. policy, and even John Yoo, the former DOJ lawyer who justified the George W. Bush administration's use of torture, has said these strikes are likely illegal.

Trump's own officials beg him to reverse course on 'absolutely stunning' nuke announcement

President Donald Trump's own officials are reportedly begging him to reverse course over his suggestion to ramp up explosive nuclear testing, according to reports on Friday.

CNN's Betsy Klein told CNN anchor Brianna Keilar that top energy and nuclear officials are planning to meet at the White House in the coming days in an attempt to dissuade President Trump from resuming testing of the nation's nuclear weapons.

"Well, Brianna, you might remember that absolutely stunning announcement from President Trump on social media just moments before he was set to meet with China's leader, Xi Jinping in Asia just a couple of weeks ago, that he was directing the Pentagon to immediately begin testing of U.S. nuclear weapons on an equal basis. And that would mark a major shift in U.S. policy," Klein said.

The U.S. has not tested nuclear weapons since about 1992, during the George H.W. Bush administration.

"The U.S. does today, however, test every part of its nuclear weapons systems except for the explosive material in those nuclear weapons, Trump recently told '60 Minutes' when asked about this that he was doing so because Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, had announced that Russia had successfully tested a Poseidon nuclear torpedo, and he said, 'I don't want to be the only country that doesn't test.' But now we are learning that top energy and nuclear officials are set to brief the White House and the National Security Council in the coming days and attempt to steer the president away from this," Klein explained.

Trump was slated to arrive in Florida on Friday. Ultimately, the testing would be his decision, she added.

"Two sources familiar with the matter say that Energy Secretary Chris Wright, along with the National Nuclear Security Administration leader Brandon Williams, as well as officials from the U.S. National Laboratories, are planning to inform the White House in this meeting that they do not think that blowing up weapons for nuclear testing is a tenable strategy," Klein said.

"These officials, according to one source, are prepared to tell the Trump administration that there's not going to be any testing and attempt to steer the White House into what they feel is a more workable plan, according to these sources, that doesn't involve blowing anything up. But a White House official noted that all testing remains on the table," she said.

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