March 9 (UPI) — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that the Trump administration’s threatened 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will start Wednesday and tariffs on Canadian dairy and lumber products will go into effect on April 2.
National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” that the tariffs are not meant to start a trade war.
“What happened was that we launched a drug war, not a trade war, and it was part of the negotiation to get Canada and Mexico to stop shipping fentanyl across our borders,” Hassett said.
“As we’ve watched them make progress on the drug war, then we’ve relaxed some of the tariffs that we put on them because they’re making progress.”
Lutnick, in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” said the tariffs would go into effect and remain until both countries are satisfied with how the flow of fentanyl into the United States is being handled.
Hassett claimed Canada is a “major source” of fentanyl imports, despite the fact that the country is only responsible for 0.2% of illegal imports of the drug into the United States, according to CNN.
President Donald Trump on Sunday responded to concerns that tariffs could cause a recession in the United States.
“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump told Mara Bartiromo on her Fox News show. “There is a period of transition because what we are doing is very big.”
Trump predicted that his approach to reshaping the economy will take time but ultimately benefit U.S. farmers. He also said Sunday that the tariffs “could go up.” He added that he plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries that put them on U.S. goods.
Economists have said Trump’s approach is unusual and unprecedented, and making American consumers and businesses nervous.