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The US will go ahead with plans to hit Canada, Mexico and China with new tariffs, the White House has said, heightening the risks of a trade war.
Washington will hit Canada and Mexico with 25 per cent tariffs and China with 10 per cent levies, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday.
“The February 1 deadline that President Trump put into place in a statement several weeks ago continues,” Leavitt said.
The comments come after reports on Friday that the tariffs pledged by Donald Trump could be delayed by a month.
Leavitt said such reports were “false”, adding, “these are promises made and promises kept by the president,” she said.
The US dollar index, which had whittled its gains to about zero following initial reports of a March 1 deadline, recovered to be 0.5 per cent higher on the day. The Mexican peso and Canadian dollar dipped into negative territory, erasing earlier gains.
This is a developing story