TMTPOST -- The Trump administration is pressuring two neighbour countries to align with new U.S. tariffs on China.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

In his interview with Bloomberg on Friday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Canada to follow suit after Mexico proposed matching U.S. tariffs on China, and describing such proposal a “very interesting” one. “I think it would be a nice gesture if the Canadians did it also, so in a way we could have ‘Fortress North America’ from the flood of Chinese imports,” then he said.

The Mexican and Canadian governments didn’t comment on Bessent’s remarks on the possible tariffs by these countries. Bloomberg has cited a source that the tariffs that Mexico proposed would focus on cars and auto parts. It was reported Mexican officials wanted to hike tariffs on Chinese goods and increase their imports from U.S. in a bid to avoid upcoming U.S. duties.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed to implement his planned levies on Mexco and Canada on March 4, next Tuesday, as scheduled, and threatened an extra 10% tariffs on China the same day.

Trump said his proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada will enter effect on March 4 as the two countries still allow illicit drugs to pour into the U.S. at the “at very high and unacceptable levels”. “We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday.

Trump in the post also slammed China for its role as a main producer and supplier of the aforementioned drugs, much of them in the form of Fentanyl. “China will likewise be charged extra 10% Tariff” on March 4, Trump wrote.

Trump added that he will move forward with the reciprocal tariff on American trading partners as the schedule. “The April Second Reciprocal Tariff date will remain in full force and effect,” wrote the president.

Mexican Deputy Economy Minister Vidal Llerenas on Thursday said that Mexico could adopt further trade measures beyond tariffs it has slapped on cheap goods mostly from China, including counterfeit products, which had entered under previous low-cost exemptions known as "de minimis."

The Trump administration has implemented an additional 10% tariffs on Chinese goods earlier this month. A White House official confirmed later Thursday that the new duties means additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will total 20%.

Trump on February 1 signed an order to impose a 25% additional tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China. In addition, the administration will imposed a 10% tariff on energy products from Canada. All new tariffs but those on energy products were planned to take into effect on February 4.

Trump and Canadian and Mexican leaders agreed to pause extra U.S. tariffs on February 3, while China announced a series of countermeasures including tit-for-tat tariffs the next day, in which the new U.S. tariffs entered effect.An additional 15% tariff will be imposed on imported coal and liquefied natural gas originating from the United States, and crude oil, agricultural machinery, automobiles with large displacement, and pickup trucks will be subject to additional tariffs of 10%, said the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on February 4.

China firmly deplores and strongly opposes Washington’s move threaten China with additional tariffs under the cover of the fentanyl issue, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian commented at a regular press on Friday.

Li noted China announced back in 2019 the decision to officially schedule fentanyl-related substances as a class at the U.S. request, and became the first country in the world to do so. China has conducted counternarcotics cooperation with the U.S. side in a broad-based and in-depth way, Lin said.

“The fentanyl issue is just an excuse the U.S. uses to impose tariffs on, pressure and blackmail China, and they punish us for helping them. This will not solve their concerns. It is only counterproductive and will deal a heavy blow to the dialogue and cooperation with China on counternarcotics,” said Lin. He urged the U.S. to correct its wrongdoing and return to the right track of addressing each other’s concerns through equal-footed consultations.