U.S. President Donald Trump says he will decide Thursday night if oil will be a target of the hefty tariffs he's threatening to impose on Canadian goods.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump suggested he still plans to go ahead with his plan to hit both Canada and Mexico with crippling 25 per cent tariffs on goods coming from those countries.
When asked if the tariffs would include oil exports, the president said he would likely be deciding later Thursday night.
WATCH | Trump asked about tariffs at the Oval Office on Thursday: During a news conference in the Oval Office on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that Canada and Mexico will face tariffs on Feb. 1. Trump said he will ‘probably’ determine Thursday evening if there will be tariffs on oil."We may or may not. We're going to make that determination probably tonight on oil," Trump said.
"Because they send us oil. We'll see, it depends on what their price is."
Trump has shifted back and forth when stating his reasoning for slapping tariffs on Canada. While he initially indicated that the tariffs needed to be levied in order to spur the Canadian government to enhance border security, the president has also complained about trade deficits.
"Mexico and Canada have never been good to us on trade. They've treated us very unfairly on trade and we will be able to make that up very quickly because we don't need the products that they have. We have all the oil that you need, we have all the trees you need — meaning the lumber. We have more than almost anybody in those two categories," he said Thursday.