'These are promises made and promises kept,' says spokesperson Karoline Leavitt
US President Donald Trump will impose new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China this weekend, the White House said Friday, bucking media reports that the timeline had been delayed.
The tariffs will take effect on Saturday, including a 25% import duty on all goods from Canada and Mexico, as well as a 10% penalty on imports from China, which spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said is being imposed "for the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country."
"These are promises made and promises kept," she added.
The confirmation that Trump will stick to his originally-vowed timeline comes after media reports alleged that Trump would postpone imposition until March 1. They are all but certain to result in retaliatory measures on US goods from the targeted nations, which constitute the US's top three trading partners.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum suggested earlier Friday that her nation has a series of measures in place to respond to any decision from Trump to impose new import duties.
"We have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, depending on what the government of the United States decides. It is very important for the people of Mexico to know that we will always defend the dignity of our people, that we will always defend respect for our sovereignty, and engage in dialogue as equals, as we have always stated, without subordination," she told reporters.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has meanwhile vowed to carry out "a purposeful, forceful, but reasonable, immediate response" should the tariffs be imposed.
"And of course, everything is on the table," he added.
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