Washington — President Trump said Monday that he has decided to move forward with 25% tariffs on nearly all goods imported from Mexico and Canada, after taking a month for aides to negotiate a potential reprieve.
The tariffs go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, hours before Mr. Trump’s first joint address to Congress in the evening. On Monday, a reporter asked the president if there is room left for Canada and Mexico to arrive at a deal before the deadline.
“No room left for Mexico or for Canada, no,” Mr. Trump responded. “The tariffs, they’re all set, they go into effect tomorrow.”
Hours earlier, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump advisers were “going to talk about” the tariff deadline and the president would make his decision Monday afternoon.
Mr. Trump has wielded tariffs as an instrument to extract concessions from foreign governments and encourage manufacturing in the U.S. “It’s a very powerful weapon that politicians haven’t used because they …