Trump postpones big tariffs against Canada and Mexico for one month

by Shauneen Miranda, Louisiana Illuminator
February 3, 2025

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday punted for one month his plans to impose sweeping tariffs against Mexico and Canada after both countries agreed to act on his demands to curb drug trafficking and illegal immigration into the United States.

The pauses came as Trump signed a trio of executive orders over the weekend that would kick-start a 25% tariff on Mexico, a 25% tariff on most goods from Canada and a 10% tariff on imports from China, beginning early Tuesday. The tariff against China remained in place Monday night.

Many economists have warned about the negative effects such broad tariffs could have on consumers.

Trump imposed the tariffs — a tax on goods that come into the country — in an effort to hold the three countries “accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country,” according to a White House fact sheet.

Mexico, Canada and China are the United States’ top trading partners. The three countries had responded to Trump’s plans with their own retaliatory measures.

Two calls with Trudeau

In a post on social media, Trump said “Canada has agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like Fentanyl that have been pouring into our Country, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, while destroying their families and communities all across our Country.”

Trump held two calls Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

After his second call with Trump, Trudeau said in a social media post that “Canada is implementing our $1.3 billion border plan — reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl.”

He said nearly “10,000 frontline personnel are and will be working on protecting the border” and that the country would make new commitments to appoint a “Fentanyl Czar.”

Canada will also “list cartels as terrorists, ensure 24/7 eyes on the border” and “launch a Canada- U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering,” Trudeau said.

“I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl and we will be backing it with $200 million,” he said. 

Negotiations with Mexico

In a social media post on Monday, Trump said he had a “very friendly conversation” with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum and that the two agreed to “immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period.”

Negotiations led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick and “high-level” Mexico representatives would take place during that time, Trump said.

Sheinbaum also agreed to “immediately supply” 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to curb illegal immigration to the United States, in addition to fentanyl smuggling.

Senate Dems on tariff impacts

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats — including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York; Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; Ron Wyden of Oregon; Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire; and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland — underscored how Trump’s tariff plans could hit Americans’ pocketbooks.

“Trump is yet again rigging the same game for his billionaire friends while doing nothing to lower costs for American families,” Schumer said.

“These nonsense tariffs equate to a tax increase on the American people, and the president isn’t just randomly slapping on tariffs — he’s slapping consumers right where it hurts: their wallets,” he added.

Asked about any legislation the Senate Democrats were contemplating, Wyden said “everything is on the table at this point.”

“No president has ever used this particular statute to impose a tariff, and we’ve already got legislation from several Democrats to make sure that it can’t be used as a blank check for the president,” the Oregon Democrat said.

The senators also brought in Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Budget Lab at Yale, which has conducted its own analysis on the economic and fiscal effects of Trump’s tariff plans regarding Mexico, Canada and China.

“We found that the average price increase was the equivalent of about $1,250 per household in America,” Tedeschi said.

“Now bear in mind that that’s just an average — tariffs are not an equitable tax — they pinch the middle class more than they pinch upper-income households.”

Last updated 4:44 p.m., Feb. 3, 2025

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