WASHINGTON — Presidents Donald Trump will delay the implementation of punishing tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month in exchange for the two countries sending added personnel to their U.S. borders.
Trump moved to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and 10% tariffs on China over the weekend, prompting retaliatory tariffs from the countries that shook economists and Texas’ business community. Mexico is Texas’ biggest trading partner by a wide margin, followed by Canada and China. Trump asserted the tariffs were to compel Mexico and Canada into tamping down illegal border crossings. They were scheduled to go into effect Tuesday.
Trump said he would pause the tariffs in exchange for Mexico and Canada investing more in border security. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum plans to send 10,000 soldiers to the border “specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country,” Trump said on social media.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will implement a $1.3 billion border plan that includes 10,000 personnel on the border — a plan Canada had announced last year — and create a “Fentanyl Czar” to tackle drugs entering the United States. Trudeau also plans a task force with the U.S. to target cross-border criminal organizations and a $200 million intelligence operation focused on organized crime and fentanyl.
