President Donald Trump has made good on his campaign promise to impose tariffs on imports from the United States’ three largest supplier countries—Canada, China, and Mexico.
Trump signed orders on Saturday evening, imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada (though Canadian energy faces a lower tariff of 10%) and 10% tariffs on goods from China. Trump signed an Executive Order titled: “Imposing Duties to Address the Flow of Illicit Drugs Across Our Northern Border.”
Trump discussed the tariffs in a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social. One update announced the official orders of the tariffs, stating that the decision was made to “protect” Americans “because of the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our Citizens, including fentanyl.”
In a second post, Trump included a video of himself on the campaign trail, where he promised the tariffs he is now imposing.
Though tariffs have been used as useful tools by politicians, consumers and economists are concerned about whether, just weeks into Trump’s term, his tariffs could raise prices of goods and services. Many voters described grocery prices and general affordability issues as high on their voting priorities, but there is the possibility of these tariffs raising prices of groceries, gas, energy, and automotive sectors.
With a heightened focus on tariffs and discussions about the potential benefits and risks, here’s what you need to know about the government-imposed taxes and why Trump is in favor of them.
What are tariffs?
Simply put, import tariffs, the kind of tariffs Trump is levying, are taxes placed on goods imported from other countries. There are also export tariffs, which are taxes on goods brought out of a country, though these are much more rare.
There are several different types of tariffs, and the kind that Trump is imposing is known as an “ad valorem tariff”—meaning the tax on imported goods is calculated as a percentage…
