President Donald Trump could be moving forward with one of his key campaign promises.
On Monday, Trump announced he will introduce 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as soon as Feb. 1.
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Tariffs are imposed on goods that are imported from another country. Experts warn the move could raise prices for consumers.
"There is so much uncertainty right now in terms of which products will see price increases as a result of the tariffs," said Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert at Nerdwallet.
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Trump had pledged to impose tariffs on both countries on Day 1 of his presidency to pressure them to keep migrants and drugs out of the U.S.
"Lots of research does show that companies then pass along that extra cost to consumers," said Sarah Foster, an economic analyst at Bankrate.com. "So while companies might be the ones who pay for the tariff, it's really the consumer who is the one footing the bill."
According to the data from the U.S. Census Bureau, about $844 billion of all U.S. imports in 2024 came from Canada and Mexico. Of that, $46 billion were agricultural products from Mexico, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Brian Bethune is a professor of economics at Boston College.
"We're still somewhat supply-constrained," Bethune said. "That means the likelihood is that at any cost, the tax increases will be passed through quickly to the consumer. And that's just the nature of the economy that we're in right now."
Some products that could get more expensive include automobiles, car parts, gas, construction materials, alcoholic beverages and some food.
"You may have to be more selective in terms of where you shop and what you buy, depending on what goods are impacted," said Bethune. "There's a possibility that you use this as more of a signaling effect to your trading partners that you want to go back to the table on a range of issues."
Trump has argued the tariffs will prompt other countries to negotiate better trade deals and boost domestic manufacturing.
"Can we come to an agreement?" asked Bethune. "And hopefully the situation gets defused."
He added that while there may be a brief period of uncertainty, Bethune is confident the U.S can adapt to changes in the market.
"It's amazing how well the economy has performed during a whole pandemic cycle," said Bethune. "That's the encouraging thing, is that there is the capacity to just move resources around, find alternative sources … The U.S. economy is the best in the world at doing that."
