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White House says Trump will impose 25% tariffs against Canada, Mexico on Saturday

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says U.S. President Donald Trump will implement 25 per cent tariffs against Canada and Mexico tomorrow.

Leavitt also said that 10 per cent tariffs on goods from China will start on Saturday.

The Press Secretary did not offer any details about possible exemptions and said media reports that the tariffs would be delayed until March were false.

Asked during a press briefing about the possibility of a trade war, Leavitt dismissed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to respond to tariffs in kind and said the PM should speak to Trump directly.

“The tariffs are incoming tomorrow on Canada,” she said, adding “these are promises made and promises kept by the president.”

Trump had said he was weighing issuing an exemption for Canadian and Mexican oil imports, but Leavitt said she had no information to share on the president’s decision on any potential carveouts.

The United States imported almost 4.6 million barrels of oil daily from Canada in October and 563,000 barrels from Mexico, according to the Energy Information Administration. U.S. daily production during that month averaged nearly 13.5 million barrels a day.

Trudeau met with the Canada-U.S. Council Friday in an attempt to prevent the tariffs, but says “if the United States moves ahead, Canada’s ready with a forceful and immediate response.”

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