Trump had signed an order over the weekend to slap a 25% tariff on most Canadian imports and 10% on energy products, which was supposed to kick in at midnight on Tuesday. But after chatting with Trudeau, Trump agreed to hold off for 30 days, especially since Trudeau promised to step up border security.
Trudeau mentioned that he had a “good call” with Trump and they’re both on board to work together on border issues. He shared that Canada is rolling out a $1.3 billion plan to boost border security with new helicopters, tech, and more personnel to tackle the fentanyl problem. They’re even putting together a 24/7 border watch and appointing a Fentanyl Czar, plus Ontario is launching a new initiative to fight organized crime and fentanyl with a $200 million budget.
On a related note, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum also got Trump to agree to pause the 25% tariffs on Mexican imports for a month, as long as they ramp up border enforcement to tackle immigration and drug smuggling. Sheinbaum is sending 10,000 National Guard members to help secure the northern border.
Trump said he’s looking forward to working with both leaders to strike a deal between the countries.
