President Trump and his advisors continue to suggest that the President will impose tariffs of up to 25% on Mexican and Canadian goods and an additional 10% on Chinese goods as soon as this Saturday, February 1. The President was unambiguous about the coming Mexican and Canadian tariffs in comments to a reporter today. On Monday (January 27), the President also told House Republicans that he plans to impose additional tariffs on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, and copper, although he was not specific about a timeline.
The closest the President has come to imposing new tariffs since taking office occurred this past weekend, when he announced tariffs of 25% on Colombian goods (increasing to 50% after one week), because Colombian President Gustavo Petro declined to allow U.S. military flights carrying undocumented immigrants to enter the country. Colombia promptly agreed to accept the deportees, and President Trump removed the tariff threat.
The President’s actions toward Colombia suggest that he is likely to justify the imposition of tariffs against Mexico and Canada under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) (50 U.S.C. §§1701–1707). IEEPA is significant, because it allows the President to impose remedies (arguably including tariffs) immediately, without a regulatory proceeding. At the same time, last weekend’s events also show that President Trump may consider removing tariffs almost as quickly as he imposes them, but only if Canada and Mexico meet the President’s demands.