Can top US trade partners avoid Trump's tariffs from Feb 1?

Mexico, Canada can escape that if they tighten border control: Commerce Secretary nominee

- Bhagyashree Garekar

WASHINGTON - What is it going to take to convince US President Donald Trump not to press ahead with his threat of tariffs on America's top three trade partners - Mexico, Canada and China?

A video might help. Preferably on Fox News.

Hours after his inauguration on Jan 20, Mr Trump told reporters he was considering imposing a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico from Feb 1, tying it to the efforts made by these countries to curb the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the US.

A day later, China was also in the cross hairs.

"We're talking about a tariff of 10 percent on China based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada," Mr Trump said during a press conference.

Mexico is the largest source of imports to the US, followed by China and Canada. The three nations make up 43 percent of the around US$3 trillion (S$4.05 trillion) in goods that the US imports annually.

Most imports from Mexico and Canada currently do not attract any tariffs under their 2020 trade agreement with the US.

Many items imported from China, however, have already been subject to tariffs since Mr Trump's first term.

During his recent election campaign, he had threatened to impose steeper tariffs of up to 60 percent on all Chinese imports.

Canada, which exports over 70 percent of its goods to the US, is keen to assure Mr Trump that it has acted to address his concerns and is trying to catch his attention on the TV channel he is believed to follow.

Ms Danielle Smith, the premier of the Canadian province of Alberta, said she had invited a Fox News crew to see the new border control measures.

"We are hopeful that these Fox News appearances display our province's and our nation's commitment," she was quoted as saying by Canadian media on Jan 29.