Trump Says China Faces New 10% Tariff By 'Probably February 1' Over Alleged Fentanyl Shipments

During a press conference at the Oval Office on Jan. 21, President Donald Trump said he is considering a 10% across-the-board tariff on all Chinese goods starting as early as next week.

While talking to reporters, Trump suggested that the sudden change to his tariff policy was due to large quantities of fentanyl coming from China via Mexico and Canada, and that the threats of tariffs could get China to crack down on the drug that was responsible for more than 70,000 American deaths in 2022.

"I had that talk with President Xi the other day too, of China. I said, we don't want that crap in our country. We got to stop it," Trump said according to CNN. "We're talking about a tariff of 10% on China based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada."

Last month, China's foreign minister Wang Yi said China and the U.S. could achieve "many great things if they work together," hoping that the Trump administration would make "the right choices, work with China in the same direction, eliminate disruptions, overcome obstacles, and strive for stable, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral relations".

When asked about the date the tariffs would be put into place, Trump said "probably February 1 is the date we're looking at."

When running for a second presidential term, Trump proposed sweeping and across-the-board tariffs of up to 20% on imports from all countries, with a 25% tax on goods from Mexico and Canada, plus a 60% tariff on goods from China.

During the press conference, Trump also vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs as he said they "treat us very, very badly."

"So they're going to be in for tariffs. It's the only way you're going to get back. It's the only way you're going to get fairness."

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning responded to Trump's comments by saying China "will always firmly safeguard its national interests," and reiterated that China has "always believed that trade wars and tariff wars have no winners."

While talking to reporters at a regular news briefing in Beijing, Ning added that China was willing to maintain communication with the U.S. and to "properly handle differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development" of Chinese and American relations.

Prior to his swearing-in ceremony, Trump said he spoke to President Xi Jinping in a call where they discussed trade, fentanyl and the social media app TikTok.

"We didn't talk too much about tariffs, other than he knows where I stand," Trump said on Jan. 21. "Look, I put large tariffs on China. I've taken in hundreds of billions of dollars. Until I was president, China never paid not 10 cents to the United States," he said.