Trump signs tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China: ‘National emergency’

The Trump administration is now implementing tariffs through its new International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), per legislation signed over the weekend.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing the tariffs on Saturday, which will go into effect on Tuesday. It consists of a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, as well as a 10% additional tariff on imports from China.

Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff, according to the White House. In a statement obtained by Fox News on Saturday, the Trump administration said that the legislation comes amid an “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency.”

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President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

“This challenge threatens the fabric of our society,” the executive order read. “Gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illicit drugs of all kinds have poured across our borders and into our communities.”

“Canada has played a central role in these challenges, including by failing to devote sufficient attention and resources or meaningfully coordinate with United States law enforcement partners to effectively stem the tide of illicit drugs.”

In a fact sheet released by Trump officials, the White House says that the tariffs are meant to hold the three countries accountable “to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country.”

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President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C.  (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The changes were widely expected after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday that the tariffs would roll out over the weekend.

On the same day, Trump told reporters that the U.S. may also increase tariffs on imports from the European Union, arguing that the tariffs would make the U.S. “very rich and very strong.” 

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President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One at the White House. (Bryan Dozier/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

“We need to protect Americans, and it is my duty as President to ensure the safety of all,” Trump wrote in a Saturday Truth Social post. “I made a promise on my Campaign to stop the flood of illegal aliens and drugs from pouring across our Borders, and Americans overwhelmingly voted in favor of it.”

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.