Market Data 
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Donald Trump is not done with tariffs.
- Trump’s top trade official said additional tariffs are coming on April 2.
- Wall Street sank on Monday after Trump imposed new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said President Donald Trump’s tariffs are just beginning.
“If you want to talk about trade policy, that starts April 2,” Lutnick said on CNBC. “These countries have used and abused us, and that is going to change.”
Trump has said that the next round of tariffs will include external agricultural products.
Trump’s first round of 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, and an additional 10% on Chinese imports roiled markets Monday afternoon.
Canada, Mexico, and China have all announced plans to impose retaliatory tariffs. China took action immediately, imposing tariffs of up to 15% on US farm products and other goods.
Lutnick said that the current tariffs are about Trump’s continuing frustration with US opioid-related deaths. Last year, federal data showed a 12% decrease in overall-related overdose deaths. Researchers told The New York Times this was largely attributed to a drop in synthetic opioid-related deaths, which has been driven by fentanyl. Lutnick said too many Americans are still dying.
“Let’s differentiate between today’s tariffs, which are about saving American lives,” Lutnick said. “China makes the opioid products, and then Mexico and Canada feed them into American and that’s gotta end. They have done a nice job on the border, but they haven’t stopped the flow of fentanyl.”
Mexican, Canadian, and Chinese officials have disputed that they are not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl, one of the Trump administration’s stated reasons for the tariffs. According to US Customs and Border Protection, most of the fentanyl coming into the US originates in Mexico. Since last September, less than 1% was seized along the US-Canadian border. China is the leading source of the chemical products used to create the deadly opioid.
The US has long chafed at Canadian restrictions on US agricultural products, especially dairy. Trump previously ordered a sweeping review of US trade deficits and other policies that most agencies must complete by April 1. He has said that he intends to then impose additional tariffs based on that review, though he will delay the action a day so as to not coincide with April Fool’s Day.
The fentanyl-related tariffs are linked to a separate emergency Trump formally declared last month.
The USMCA left Canada’s protectionist agriculture policies in place, which still allows it to impose high tariffs on US dairy, eggs, and poultry products to protect Canadian farmers despite broadly lowering borders to trade across North America.
