President Donald Trump defended his recently imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China while speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday night, February 2, hinting that the European Union could soon face similar measures.
The tariffs, authorized in an executive order on Saturday, February 1, will take effect Tuesday, February 4, Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 25% tariff will be added to imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. The executive order cites an “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl” as the basis for declaring a national emergency.
Trump accused Canada of being “abusive” toward the United States in trade. “Canada has been very abusive of the United States for many years. They don’t allow our banks,” he claimed. “And you know that Canada does not allow banks to go in if you think about it. That’s pretty amazing. If we have a U.S. bank, they don’t allow them to go in.”
He continued, “Canada has been very tough for oil on energy. They don’t allow our farm products in, essentially. They don’t allow a lot of things in. And we allow everything to come in as being a one-way street.”
Trump also alleged that the U.S. subsidizes Canada “by the tune of about $200 billion a year” and added, “And for what? What do we get out of it? We don’t get anything out of it. I love the people of Canada. I disagree with the leadership of Canada, and something is going to happen there.”
The president also confirmed his intent to impose tariffs on the European Union, stating that the U.S. has a $300 billion trade deficit with the bloc. “They don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm products, they take almost nothing,” Trump said. “And we take everything from them. Millions of cars, tremendous amounts of food and farm products. So the UK is way out of line and we’ll see the UK, but the European Union is really out of line.”
The tariffs have drawn sharp criticism from leaders in Canada and Mexico. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum issued a statement on Saturday rejecting the White House’s allegations. “Mexico not only does not want fentanyl to reach the United States, but anywhere,” the statement read. “Therefore, if the United States wants to combat criminal groups that traffic drugs and generate violence, we must work together in an integrated manner, but always under the principles of shared responsibility, mutual trust, collaboration and, above all, respect for sovereignty, which is not negotiable.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded by encouraging Canadians to “buy Canada.” In a post on X, Trudeau wrote, “Now is the time to choose products made right here in Canada. Check the labels. Let’s do our part. Wherever we can, choose Canada.”
Trump also addressed the possibility of cutting off aid to South Africa after its president signed a controversial land seizure measure. “Terrible things are happening in South Africa,” he said. “The leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things. So that’s under investigation right now.”
His remarks followed a Truth Social post earlier on Sunday in which he accused South Africa of “treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY” and declared, “A massive Human Rights VIOLATION, at a minimum, is happening for all to see. The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”