Trump stirs tariff pot with threats on EU, Feb 1 China deadline

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs and said his administration was discussing a 10% punitive duty on Chinese imports because fentanyl is being sent from China to the U.S. via Mexico and Canada.

Trump voiced his latest tariff threats in remarks to reporters at the White House a day after taking office without immediately imposing tariffs as he had promised during his campaign.

Financial markets and trade groups exhaled briefly on Tuesday, but his latest comments underscored Trump's longstanding desire for broader duties and a new Feb. 1 deadline for 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico, as well as duties on China and the EU.

Trump said the EU and other countries also had troubling trade surpluses with the United States.

"The European Union is very, very bad to us," he said, repeating comments made Monday. "So they're going to be in for tariffs. It's the only way ... you're going to get fairness."

Trump said on Monday that he was considering imposing the duties on Canada and Mexico unless they clamped down on the trafficking of illegal migrants and fentanyl, including precursor chemicals from China, across their U.S. borders.

Trump had previously threatened a 10% duty on Chinese imports because of the trade, but realigned that with the Feb. 1 deadline.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told CNBC early on Tuesday that Trump's Canada and Mexico tariff threat was to pressure the two countries to stop illegal migrants and illicit drugs from entering the U.S.

"The reason why he's considering 25, 25 and 10 (percent), or whatever it's going to be, on Canada, Mexico and China, is because 300 Americans die every day" from fentanyl overdoses, Navarro said.

Trump on Monday announced a sweeping immigration crackdown, including a broad ban on asylum.

Reuters