Trump deals with Mexico and Canada put trade war on hold – Washington Examiner
President Donald Trump has temporarily halted planned tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, wich were set to take effect due to concerns about illegal immigration and drug trafficking.Both Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made commitments to enhance border security, leading to a 30-day reprieve on the tariffs. Trump’s moves have drawn attention for their impact on trade relationships, with commentary from economic experts suggesting that his approach of threatening tariffs effectively compels allies to comply with U.S. demands.
The pause on tariffs was celebrated within the GOP as a sign of Trump’s strong negotiating skills, while there were criticisms regarding the potential impact of these tariffs on American consumers, particularly related to commodity prices. As part of the commitments to pause tariffs, Sheinbaum pledged to send 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to enhance security. Trudeau, after discussions with Trump, also agreed to a $1.3 billion border security plan that includes appointing a “Fentanyl Czar” and increasing personnel along the U.S.-Canada border.
Trump and his management maintain that these actions are part of a broader strategy to combat drug trafficking and ensure American safety, framing the issue more as a ”drug war” than a straightforward trade dispute. The situation remains dynamic, as the administration seeks to negotiate further with both Canada and Mexico while preparing to address similar concerns with China later in the week.
Trump deals with Mexico and Canada put trade war on hold and notch win in the ‘drug war’
President Donald Trump avoided a trade war, for now, with Canada and Mexico after the two U.S. allies offered plans Monday to reduce illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the United States.
Mere hours before the president’s new 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada were to go into effect both Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced they would work with the Trump administration on border security, prompting a 30-day pause to the tariff threat.
Trump’s 10% tariffs on goods from China were set to go into effect by 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
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American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Steve Kamin told the Washington Examiner that Trump has “achieved greater power for himself” through the new deals. The wins with Mexico and Canada on Monday follow a pattern from last week when a tariff threat on Colombia also produced concessions.
“This is a continuation of what happened with Colombia, so this is basically tripling down on that experience,” Kamin, who was previously director of the Federal Reserve Board’s Division of International Finance and a senior member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said.
“What he’s shown is that his willingness to abuse the tariff power in order to browbeat allies into submission is indeed effective because foreign leaders, much as they would like to stand up against Trump, know that it’s to the detriment of their economies to do so,” Kamin added. “We can only assume that, as you know, as each of these successes builds on success, that he’ll do it again.”
The White House and GOP allies celebrated the pause on Canadian and Mexican tariffs as a triumph of Trump’s negotiating skills.
“The Art of the Deal is back,” said Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX). “This is how world leaders solve problems.”
Both the Dow Jones average and S&P 500 fell nearly 1.5% upon opening Monday morning, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that falling stocks impacted the president’s decision to delay the tariffs on Mexican goods.
“What impacted the delay on the tariffs was the president of Mexico committing to putting 10,000 permanent soldiers on the U.S.-Mexican border,” she told reporters. “There’s a lot of talk about the markets. There’s a lot of talk about the cost of goods.”
Vice President JD Vance similarly discounted criticism raised by Democrats and other critics of the president that these new tariffs will substantially raise prices for American households. Democrats slammed Trump for seeking to raise prices on beer and guacamole just in time for Super Bowl Sunday.
“For literally three days, I heard the far left in this country say that these tariffs would make Americans’ lives worse off,” he said during a press conference in East Palestine, Ohio. “What actually happened is the Mexican government was so afraid of the tariffs that they actually are taking their border enforcement and their anti-cartel activity more seriously. That is not a pathway to making Americans worse off. That’s a pathway to making Americans better off.”
Sheinbaum said Monday morning that, in order to secure the pause, she would deploy 10,000 Mexican troops to the border to combat illegal immigration and drug traffic into the United States.
The Mexican government reached a similar deal with the Biden administration in 2021 to send 10,000 Mexican troops to the border, and White House officials could not immediately say if Sheinbaum’s announcement meant that number was now doubling or if the Mexican government was maintaining the same force posture.
Trudeau took a little more time to bend to Trump’s will. Following two calls with the president, he said Monday evening that, in exchange for a 30-day pause on tariff implementation, he would implement a $1.3 billion border plan, which includes appointing a “Fentanyl Czar,” list the cartels as terrorist organizations, launch a joint Canada-U.S. strike force to tackle organized crime, and committing 10,000 “frontline personnel” to security at the U.S.-Canada border.
Over the weekend, Trudeau had threatened to retaliate by placing 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods, including whiskey products produced in Kentucky.
“As President, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of ALL Americans, and I am just doing that. I am very pleased with this initial outcome,” Trump wrote in a statement responding to the Canada and Mexico announcements.
Peter Navarro, the president’s top trade adviser, told reporters Monday that Trump’s tariff policy is part of a larger drug war, not an attempt to reshape existing trade relationships with U.S. allies.
“The difference between Mexico and Canada thus far is that Canada thinks we’re fighting a trade war with them. That’s not the case. This is a drug war,” he stated. “I think it’s important that if Canada Canadian citizens, themselves, can understand that what we’re trying to do here is stop the killing of Americans by these deadly drugs.”
Trump discussed the latest tariff developments during an impromptu press conference in the Oval Office Monday afternoon, touting his negotiating skills.
“You’re going to see. Every one of those single countries is dying to make a deal,” he continued. “You know why? Because they’re ripping us off.”
The president told reporters that he plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. Both the first Trump administration and the Biden administration sought to work with Beijing to stem the flow of fentanyl precursor components from Chinese manufacturers to the cartels in Mexico.
Navarro additionally claimed Monday afternoon that Mexican cartels, in an effort to circumvent increased security at the southern border, had expanded their operations in Canada.
“They’re making fentanyl there and sending it down to the U.S.,” he explained. “The Chinese are using Canada to send in small parcels below the radar, and fentanyl — one glass of it can kill millions of Americans. Just one single glass. It’s that deadly.”
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