President Trump’s imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico – America’s two largest trade partners – have each been delayed by 30 days due to both countries promising to improve their border crossing enforcement.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump states:
“I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30-day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured.”
This announcement comes after a chaotic weekend where the United States implemented tariffs on Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese imports while Canada also instated tariffs on American imports in retaliation. RMU Sentry Media contributor Brooke Hart wrote a thorough report on the imposed tariffs, which you can read here.
Trump initially paused the tariffs on Canada alone, which coincides with shifts in Canadian border policy. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that Canada will appoint a “Fentanyl Czar” and declare Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, both of which are based on rhetoric from the new Trump administration.
The tariffs on Mexico were later announced to be delayed Monday evening, as Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reportedly had “very productive talks” about the two countries’ border. The two presidents “look forward” to continuing diplomatic talks in the near future.
As for China, no word has come from the White House about any pauses in the tariffs proposed. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will speak within a few days and the White House will provide a report on the meeting. However, Trump has stated: “If we can’t make a deal with China, then the tariffs will be very, very substantial”.
There is no indication that the tariffs will go away completely short of the three countries affected complying with every one of Trump’s demands, but the President doesn’t see this as a negative, telling reporters:
“Tariffs are very powerful both economically and in getting everything else you want… nobody can compete with us because we’re the pot of gold. But if we don’t keep winning and keep doing well, we won’t be the pot of gold”.
The tariffs on Canada and Mexico, barring any further development, are set to resume implementation on March 5.
