President Trump’s proposed tariffs against Canada and Mexico, which were set to take effect starting tomorrow, are likely to be pushed back, according to statements from each country’s leaders. Delivering their messages through their social media accounts, both Trump and President Sheinbaum of Mexico indicated that the two had had a “conversation” that resulted in an agreement that the tariffs proposed by Trump against the United States’ neighbor to the South would be put on a “pause” for at least a month. After a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this afternoon, the same was announced for proposed tariffs against Canada.
Sheinbaum and Trump’s statements showed agreement that Mexico would station 10,000 Mexican law enforcement officers (Trump called them “soldiers,” Sheinbaum mentioned “National Guard”) at the border, with Trump saying that they would be there to “stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants” into the United States, while Sheinbaum only mentioned the purpose of “prevent[ing] drug trafficking.” Sheinbaum’s communiqué published on X also spoke of a commitment from the United States to “prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico,” a stipulation that significantly, does not appear in Trump’s statement from his official account on Truth Social, a platform which he owns. The president indicated that during the month-long pause, negotiations will be underway with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
After a phone call at 3 p.m. today with President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister announced that sanctions against Canada would be postponed at least 30 days in exchange for more cooperation on border issues, including the establishment of “a Canada- U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.” Before the call, Trump appeared to publicly share a point of negotiation from his end in a post on Truth Social. “Canada doesn’t even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there,” the president wrote. “What’s that all about?”
Trump also stated that “hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S.” due to drugs brought in from Canada. The claim is dubious at best, as less than one percent of Fentanyl brought into the United States has come from its northern border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizure data, while Canada’s equivalent agency has reported seizing quantities of fentanyl in the same ballpark (40lbs. of fentanyl coming into the U.S., 20lbs. going into Canada over the same year), indicating that drug trafficking across the U.S-Canada border is not a one-sided issue.
In a speech delivered this morning, Trudeau urged a more conciliatory approach, reminding U.S. leaders of ”the most successful economic, military, and security partnership the world has ever seen” between the two countries. “If President trump wants to usher in a new golden age for the United States,” Trudeau said, “the better path is to partner with Canada, not to punish us.”
In statements to reporters in the Oval Office, the president called America’s trade deficit with the EU an “atrocity” that required sanctions to rectify, and also stated that he “will speak with China” within the next day over the “opening salvo” of sanctions set to take effect tomorrow. China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced its plans to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization for the “wrongful practices of the U.S.”
