President Donald Trump’s plan to unilaterally impose a 25 percent tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports appears to be on hold in both countries Monday after a series of phone calls between Trump and the leaders of the two nations.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to X (formerly Twitter) after what he described as a “good call with President Trump,” and said Canada was continuing to implement a $1.3 billion investment in security along his country’s long and largely unguarded border with America, including “new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl.”
Trudeau also said there are and already had been 10,000 Canadian personnel working along the world’s largest unguarded land frontier on protection-related duties.
He further added that his government will be making a $200 million investment in combatting organized crime in accordance with what he called “a new intelligence directive” he had signed.
In addition he announced that Ottowa was making “new commitments” regarding combatting cross-border fentanyl trafficking, including the naming of a new Canadian “fentanyl czar,” following Washington’s lead in designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations. Trudeau also referred to what he called a “Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.”
As a result, Trudeau said Trump’s threatened tariffs – and the Canadian response he had previewed in a speech late Sunday — would be on hold for a 30-day period.
Earlier on Monday, Trump announced he had delayed implementing an identical 25 percent tax on Mexican imports after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to send more troops to her country’s northern border.
In a statement posted to his Truth Social platform, Trump said he had just concluded a “very friendly conversation” with Sheinbaum. She said the Mexican president had agreed to dispatch 10,000 soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border and charge them with halting flows of illicit fentanyl and stopping migrants from heading into the U.S.
Trump also said he and Sheinbaum agreed that he would delay imposing the import taxes, and she would in turn delay any retaliatory tariffs amid a “high-level” dialogue between Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and a Mexican delegation.
Trump said he was looking forward to participating in those negotiations with an eye toward what he described as a “deal” between the two countries.
Speaking in the Oval Office several hours later, Trump said he “likes” Sheinbaum “very much.”
“We've had good relationships, but we have to stop fentanyl from coming in, whether I like somebody or not, and we have to stop the illegal aliens from coming,” he said.
“They've agreed to put in 10,000 soldiers permanently, like forever, 10,000 soldiers at their side of the border and stop fentanyl and illegal aliens from coming into our country. They have a big incentive to do so,” he continued.
“Other than that, we've agreed to talk and consider various other things. We haven't agreed on tariffs yet, and maybe we will, maybe we won't, but we have a very good relationship,” said Trump.
Before the agreement was announced with Canada, Trump slammed the country, claiming that America’s longtime ally is “very tough to do business with,” and said that Ottowa cannot be allowed to “take advantage of the U.S.”
“They don't take our agricultural product for the most part. They don't take our cars. They make cars, but they basically don't take our cars,” he insisted.
The president claimed that the United States does not need Canada “to make our cars,” and has no need for Canadian lumber or other agricultural products, even though the U.S. is a significant importer of Canadian products.
The president’s 11th-hour announcement comes just one day before he was set to impose the 25 percent tariffs on both Mexican and Canadian imported goods, 10 percent tariffs on Canadian petroleum products, and an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports.
Trump frequently claims that the tariffs he unilaterally imposes are paid by foreign nations, but they are actually paid by American importers and passed on to American consumers in the form of higher costs.
The president’s intention to impose what would amount to a massive consumption tax on American consumers roiled stock markets in the U.S., which dipped early Monday morning in response to his announcement.
His plan to place sweeping tariffs on imports from America’s largest trading partners has shaken investors and risked rending a tightly integrated North American supply chain that has been in place for decades.
In a separate Truth Social post, Trump complained about Canadian banking regulations that bar American banks from operating in the country.
