Sat. Feb 15th, 2025

New U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods came into effect Tuesday, with China quickly announcing tariffs on U.S. imports in response.

China said it would impose 15% tariffs on U.S. coal and liquified natural gas, as well as 10% tariffs on crude oil, agricultural machinery and some automobiles.

The U.S. measures involve a 10% tariff on all Chinese goods, which Trump announced in an effort to pressure China to take action to prevent fentanyl smuggling into the United States.

The U.S. government has identified China as a major source of the precursor chemicals used by Mexican drug cartels to manufacture fentanyl.

China has said it has taken steps to crack down on the industry and illicit drug trade.

“China hopefully is going to stop sending us fentanyl, and if they’re not, the tariffs are going to go substantially higher,” Trump said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that Trump would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming days.

Trump on Monday announced a one-month pause for the 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods after he spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Sheinbaum said she would dispatch 10,000 National Guard troops to try to curb the flow of fentanyl into the United States.

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