Washington:
At a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday (local time), US President Donald Trump interrupted as Starmer replied to a question from a journalist on the issue of Canada.
Speaking at the presser with Trump in Washington, DC, Starmer said, “I think you’re (journalist) trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist. We’re the closest of nations and we had very good discussions today, but we didn’t touch Canada,” after which Trump was heard saying, “That’s enough, thank you.”
Earlier in the day, Trump had decided to continue with the imposition of tariffs on Canada and Mexico from March 4, citing the flow of illicit drugs allegedly coming into the US from their borders.
He also decided to continue the imposition of reciprocal tariffs “with full force” on April 2.
On February 4, the US President paused tariffs on imports from both countries for 30 days, saying that he had secured new commitments from the two countries to improve border security. The pause was put in place after President Trump said he spoke to his counterparts from Mexico and Canada.
“Drugs are still pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels. A large percentage of these Drugs, much of them in the form of Fentanyl, are made in, and supplied by China. More than 100,000 people died last year due to the distribution of these dangerous and highly addictive POISONS,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Citing the smuggling of drugs across the border, Trump has vowed to stop or “seriously limit” such drugs, especially Fentanyl.
“Millions of people have died over the last two decades. The families of the victims are devastated and, in many instances, virtually destroyed. We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” read Trump’s post.
In addition, China will also be charged an additional 10 pc tariff from March 4.
“China will likewise be charged an additional 10 per cent Tariff on that date. The April Second Reciprocal Tariff date will remain in full force and effect. Thank you for your attention to this matter. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” Trump added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
