U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech on AI infrastructure in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 21, 2025.
Carlos Barría | Reuters
President Donald Trump said his team is discussing a 10% tariff on China and that the tariff could take effect as soon as February 1.
“We’re talking about a 10 percent tariff on China, based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” the president said, speaking to reporters at the White House Tuesday evening.
“February 1 is probably the date we’re looking at,” he added.
Trump also noted Tuesday that his team was talking about a tariff of “around 25%” on Mexico and Canada.
He made similar comments a day earlier, emphasizing that samples on Mexico and Canada could take place as early as February.
“We are looking at 25% levies on Mexico and Canada because they are allowing large numbers of people” to cross the border, he said Monday.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump threatened to impose tariffs more than 60% on Chinese products. As recently as November, he called for “an additional rate of 10%” on China, according to a post on its social media platform Truth Social.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated which countries would be subject to a 25% levy. These countries are Mexico and Canada.
