On January 31, news broke that President Trump had decided that he would announce tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods on February 1, but that the effective date for the tariffs would be March 1. The news report also said that the President planned to establish a process for requesting product-specific exemptions from the tariffs.
Almost immediately, While House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said these reports were “false,” and she said multiple times during a one-hour briefing that the President would announce tariffs tomorrow and that the tariffs would have immediate effect.
Ms. Leavitt said tariffs on Canada and Mexico would be 25%, and tariffs on China would be 10%. She called these “promises made and promises kept by the President.” She responded to questions about the impact of the tariffs by saying the President will “effectively implement” the tariffs. She was not asked about and did not comment upon the possibility of an exclusion process or on what statutory authority the President plans to base the tariffs. She declined to comment on how long the tariffs would remain in place or what concessions would be required for removal, saying she would “leave it to [the President]” to decide how long the tariffs would be in place.