What we know about Trump’s plan to slap tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

Geoff Bennett:

President Trump today said he's moving forward with his plans to slap tariffs on three major U.S. trading partners.

Amna Nawaz:

Speaking to reporters, he confirmed 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10 percent on those coming from China, with many to go into effect as soon as Saturday. The president also said that tariffs on the European Union are to be expected.

Donald Trump, President of the United States: The tariffs are going to make us very rich and very strong and we're going to treat other countries very fairly. But if you think about it, other countries charge us tariffs. We don't charge them tariffs, and it's about time that that changes.

Amna Nawaz:

Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has been following all this and joins us now.

So, Laura, what are the potential impacts of the tariffs? How sweeping are they?

Laura Barron-Lopez:

They're very sweeping, Amna. And they're unprecedented, according to the economists that we talked to, nothing like we have seen in our lifetimes in terms of the scope of the tariffs, especially being exacted on allies like Mexico and Canada.

And I spoke to Erica York, the V.P. of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, and she said that these are going to be extremely disruptive because of the fact that these tariffs are on all goods on — to Mexico and Canada. And she and other economists said that they could upend the supply chain relationships that the United States has and that ultimately this is going to have a lot of impact on the American consumer.

I should note that Trump also said there would be future tariffs on the European Union, and should note that some economists believe that targeted tariffs are good. President Biden kept in place a number of President Trump's first-term tariffs.

But Erica York said that she and her team crunched the numbers at Tax Foundation and that this exact percentage of tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China could cost the average American household an extra $830 a year.

Amna Nawaz:

Well, Mr. Trump has said that he would do this as president. Now President Trump is doubling down on the threat to do this. What's been the reaction to these threats?

Laura Barron-Lopez:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada will be forceful, but reasonable and have an immediate response that they're prepared to implement.

And another Canadian official told the "News Hour" that they are in D.C. and prepared to negotiate with President Trump up until the last minute to avoid tariffs, but that they don't see a single American official that's willing to negotiate with them right now.

Amna Nawaz:

While we have you, Laura, I need to ask about some news tonight. The AP is reporting that a top Department of Justice official has ordered the firing of some prosecutors who worked on January 6 rioter cases. There's also AP reporting that a number of FBI officials, including some who investigated the federal cases against President Trump, are at risk of being fired.

What do we know?

Laura Barron-Lopez:

What we know so far is that the Trump administration is expected to fire dozens of FBI agents. This is according to multiple reports and also some reporting by our own Stephanie Sy.

But the president was asked about this today and he essentially said he didn't — wasn't really aware of the potential of these firings. And he said that there are some very bad people over at the FBI and that he thinks that this is a good idea, but it was, frankly, stunning, Amna, because he didn't appear to be aware of these coming firings.

Amna Nawaz:

Laura Barron-Lopez, thank you very much.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

Thank you.