The U.S. imports billions of dollars’ worth of goods from Canada, Mexico and China across a range of sectors.
President Donald Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on America’s largest trading partners, raising the prospect that a host of everyday goods could become more expensive for U.S. consumers.
Just after midnight, 25% duties came into effect against Canada and Mexico. An additional 10% levy was imposed on Chinese goods on top of another 10% tariff that took effect in February. A lower 10% duty was placed on Canadian energy imports.
The U.S. imports billions of dollars’ worth of goods from those nations across a range of sectors. Among the common Mexican imports that may see price increases: cars, fruits, vegetables, beer, liquor and electronics. And from Canada: potatoes, grains, lumber and steel.
EY Chief Economist Gregory Daco said last month that agricultural products, as a major category of trade between the U.S., China and Mexico, would be among the products most directly affected by any new duties.
On Tuesday morning, Target CEO Brian Cornell warned produce items at the big-box retailer may see price increases. Target relies heavily on Mexican produce during the winter months, he said, and the tariffs could force the company to raise prices on fruits and vegetables as soon as this week.
Cornell said prices could rise for produce like strawberries, avocados and bananas.
“Those are categories where we’ll try to protect pricing, but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days,” he told CNBC in an interview after Target released its fourth-quarter earnings. “If there’s a 25% tariff, those prices will go up,” Cornell added.
Best Buy CEO Corie Barry issued a similar warning Tuesday, noting China and Mexico are the company’s top two supply-chain sources.
“Trade is critically important to our business and industry; the consumer electronic supply chain is highly global, technical and complex,” Barry said. “We expect our vendors across our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for American consumers highly likely.”
With deeply intertwined automotive supply chains between the three countries, cars and auto parts are likely to get pricier to bring into the U.S., too.
S&S Automotive services cars in Secaucus, New Jersey, where owner Keith Scaglione says tariffs would likely make the cost of parts like oil filters more expensive, making even routine fixes costlier for consumers.
“Oil changes, mainly that’ll be the first noticeable one, an average oil change on most vehicles is now anywhere between $50 to $80. It’s probably going to end up over $100,” Scaglione said in an interview before the tariffs were imposed.
The tariffs could be the beginning of a policy war, with tariff rates at risk of ratcheting as affected countries retaliate.
Already, Canada announced phased levies on a total of $107 billion worth of U.S. goods in response to Trump’s move, though it has not specified exactly which items they would apply to. China, meanwhile, said it would soon impose tariffs of as high as 15% on American agricultural products including chicken, wheat, corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafood, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum indicated in remarks Tuesday that her country would respond by Sunday.
The White House has previously indicated there was a “retaliation clause” added to the measures.
“So that if any country chooses to retaliate in any way, the signal will be to take further action with respect to likely increased tariffs,” the White House said.
It was not clear Tuesday morning if additional actions from the White House were in the offing. A White House representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump is enacting the tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows the president to respond to “extraordinary threat,” which Trump has identified as a fentanyl and drug crisis that he alleges China, Mexico and Canada facilitate.
Appearing on CNBC on Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick doubled down on the threat posed by fentanyl flows, even as official U.S. data shows a recent significant downturn in interdictions.
“This is not a trade war, it’s a drug war,” Lutnick said.
Lutnick also warned a general “reset” was coming with all of America’s trade partners, alluding to previously unveiled “reciprocal” tariffs Trump plans to impose on nations with historically friendly ties to the U.S., especially in Europe.
“These countries have used us and abused us, and that’s going to change,” Lutnick said, adding: “Trillions and trillions of dollars are going to come back to America.”
The tariffs on Canadian energy imports represent a major development for an industry that almost unilaterally sells crude oil to the U.S. Canada Energy Regulator reported that in 2023 it sent about 97% of all its crude oil exports to the United States.
For U.S. refineries that are specifically tuned to Canadian oil, any costs associated with switching imports could lead to more expensive gas prices at the pump.
EY’s Daco said imposing tariffs “on large trading partners would have severe economic consequences” for the U.S., Mexico and Canada, “and could lead to an environment that is both a higher inflation environment and also a lower growth environment because of the importance of the trade with both of these economies.”
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