US President Donald Trump’s planned 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico have been suspended for one month. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the decision.
The White House said in a statement that the suspension was in exchange for Canada and Mexico’s commitment to cooperate more closely with the United States. It emphasized the need for progress, especially in the fight against drug trafficking and border security. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference, “During this time, we will work hard to develop common solutions with the United States. We will do our best to prevent damage to our economic relations.” Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said they are optimistic that an agreement will be reached with the US. The Mexican government has decided to deploy 10,000 National Guardsmen to the US border as a gesture of goodwill. Officials said the move was aimed at reducing illegal migration. Canada has similarly announced that it will increase border security and take additional measures to crack down on the drug trade entering the US illegally. In particular, Trudeau said they would appoint a new “fentanyl officer” to prevent the synthetic opioid fentanyl from entering the US through Canada.
