Washington After both nations agreed to his demands to stop drug trafficking and illegal immigration into the United States, President Donald Trump on Monday postponed for a month his plans to levy broad tariffs against Mexico and Canada.
The stoppage occurred as Trump signed three executive orders over the weekend that would begin early Tuesday with a 25% tariff on Mexico, a 25% tariff on the majority of Canadian goods, and a 10% tariff on Chinese imports. On Monday night, the tax against China was still in effect.
Numerous economists have expressed concern about the potential harm that such extensive tariffs could cause to consumers.
According to a White House fact sheet, Trump implemented the tariffs, which are taxes on goods that enter the nation, in an attempt to hold the three nations responsible for their pledges to curtail illegal immigration and the flow of dangerous drugs like fentanyl into the United States.
The top trading partners of the United States are China, Mexico, and Canada. The three nations have taken their own retaliatory actions in response to Trump’s intentions.
Trump claimed in a social media post that Canada had committed to securing our northern border and putting an end to the deadly scourge of drugs like fentanyl that have been flooding our nation, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans and destroying their families and communities across the nation.
Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke on the phone twice on Monday.
Trudeau announced on social media following his second meeting with Trump that Canada is carrying out our $1.3 billion border strategy, which includes bolstering the border with more personnel, technology, and helicopters, improving cooperation with our U.S. partners, and increasing resources to halt the flow of fentanyl.
Nearly 10,000 frontline troops are currently and will continue to guard the border, he added, and the nation will make new promises to designate a Fentanyl Czar.
According to Trudeau, Canada will also designate cartels as terrorists, maintain border security around-the-clock, and establish a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to fight money laundering, fentanyl, and organized crime.
He added, “We will be supporting it with $200 million and I have signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl.”
Trump claimed in a social media tweet on Monday that he had a cordial discussion with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico and that the two had decided to immediately halt the planned tariffs for a month.
Trump stated that during that period, negotiations will be conducted under the direction of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, and senior representatives from Mexico.
In an effort to stop fentanyl smuggling and illegal immigration to the United States, Sheinbaum has committed to sending 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border right away.
Senate Democrats, including New York Senator Chuck Schumer, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan, and Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks, highlighted how Trump’s tariff policies could negatively impact the financial situation of Americans.
Schumer claimed that while Trump is doing nothing to reduce prices for American families, he is once again manipulating the same game for his rich cronies.
“The president isn’t just slapping on tariffs at random; he’s slapping consumers right where it hurts: their wallets,” he continued, adding that these ridiculous tariffs amount to an increase in taxes for the American people.
Wyden responded that everything is on the table right now when asked if there was any legislation that the Senate Democrats were considering.
“We already have legislation from several Democrats to make sure that it can’t be used as a blank check for the president,” the Democrat from Oregon stated, adding that no president has ever utilized this specific statute to impose a tariff.
The senators also invited Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at Yale’s Budget Lab, which has done its own research on the fiscal and economic ramifications of Trump’s proposed tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico.
According to Tedeschi, we discovered that the average price rise in America was roughly $1,250 per household.
Now, keep in mind that’s only an average; tariffs are not a fair tax; middle-class households are more negatively impacted than upper-class ones.
