Trump says he is mulling 10% tariff on imports from China, starting February 1

US President Donald Trump said he is considering 10 per cent tariffs on imports from China, starting on February 1, as a penalty for the flow of fentanyl, which is responsible for thousands of deaths in the US annually.

“We’re talking about a tariff of 10 per cent on China, based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” Trump said in his first press conference after his inauguration on Tuesday.

Trump said after his swearing-in on Monday that he is considering 25 per cent tariffs on the US’ two North American neighbours, also to start on February 1, to push them to stop shipments of the opioid from coming into the US, but did not mention China.

The new US leader did not announce any tariffs on China on his inauguration day, despite earlier vows to do so on his first day in office. Instead, he directed federal agencies to investigate China’s “unfair trade practices” as one of over 250 executive actions that he took.

Trump added in the press conference that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping “didn’t talk much” about the tariffs during their call on Friday, adding that Xi knows “where I stand”.