US tariffs on Canada and Mexico will happen Tuesday, says commerce chief

BBC | US tariffs against Canada and Mexico are set to come into effect on Tuesday but their level will be decided by Donald Trump, the US commerce secretary has said.

The US president has threatened to impose 25% tariffs, which are a tax on imports, on his two neighbours on 4 March, in response to what he says is an unacceptable flow of illegal drugs and migrants into the US.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday the tariffs will happen as planned but the exact details will depend on negotiations.

A 10% tariff on Chinese imports is also expected to be implemented in response to US accusations that Beijing is not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US.

This means that if brought into effect, Chinese exports to the US will face a 20% levy in total, following a 10% tariff that took effect a month ago.

Chinese state media claims leaders in Beijing have prepared a series of countermeasures to happen on the same day, raising the prospect of an all-out trade war between the world's top two economies.

China's state-run Global Times newspaper said the countermeasures will probably target US agricultural and food products.

Analysts believe Beijing still hopes to avoid an all-out trade war and negotiate a truce with the Trump administration, but so far there has been no sign of a deal between the two economic giants.

Trump has long maintained that tariffs are a useful tool to correct trade imbalances and protect US manufacturing