In the latest edition of President Donald Trump's trade war, he announced early Saturday that the U.S. will begin imposing 30% tariffs on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting August 1.
The new tax on imports from Mexico and the European Union is among the numerous tariffs the president has announced this week. Late Thursday, he said he would begin imposing 35% tariffs on goods from Canada.
Other trading partners have also been slapped with major tariffs that will begin Aug. 1. Among them, imports from Brazil will face a 50% tariff, while goods from Japan and South Korea will have a 25% tariff.
In a letter to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, President Trump claimed Mexico wasn't doing enough to stop the flow of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, into the U.S.
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"Despite our strong relationship, you will recall the United States imposed tariffs on Mexico to deal with our nation's fentanyl crisis, which caused, in part, by Mexico's failure to stop the cartels who are made up of the most despicable people who ever walked the Earth from pouring these drugs into our country," he wrote. "Mexico has been helping me secure the border, but what Mexico has done is not enough."
In a similar letter to European Union President Ursula von der Leyen, President Trump blamed a trade deficit with the EU for the tariffs.
Some lawmakers and business experts say the tariff whiplash is already causing headaches for U.S. firms.
"They're tearing their hair out," said Rita McGrath, a professor at the Columbia Business School. "Absolutely. You know, they won't say so in public, but behind the scenes, how can you plan when, you know, one day it's 125% and the next day it is 200% and then the day after that it's 25%?"
Tariffs are an import tax imposed on companies when products cross international borders. Some economists believe companies will tend to pass the cost of tariffs on to consumers.
Fifty-seven percent of major companies said tariffs have squeezed their profits, according to a May survey.
And three in four say they're considering upping prices by at least 5 percent over the next six months.
