Trump says Canada, Mexico tariffs on schedule despite border, fentanyl efforts
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Trucks wait in line to cross into the United States near the border customs control at the World Trade Bridge, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said on Feb 24 that tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports are “on time and on schedule”, despite efforts by the countries to beef up border security and halt the flow of fentanyl into the US ahead of a March 4 deadline.
“The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Mr Trump said at a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. He had been asked whether Canada and Mexico had done enough to avoid the punishing 25 per cent US duties.
Many had hoped the top two US trading partners could persuade Mr Trump’s administration to further delay tariffs that would apply to over US$918 billion (S$1.2 trillion) worth of US imports from the two countries, from autos to energy. This could wreak havoc on the integrated North American economy, with the automotive sector hit particularly hard.
Mr Trump did not specifically mention the March 4 deadline. He later referred to his desire for “reciprocal” tariffs to match the duty rates and offset the trade barriers of all countries, including France.
Mr Trump and Mr Macron did not publicly discuss another sticking point – digital services taxes imposed by France, Canada and other countries aimed at dominant US tech giants including Google, Facebook and Amazon.
On Feb 21, Mr Trump ordered his administration to revive tariff investigations into countries that levy digital services taxes on US firms.
Border hopes dismissed
Canada and Mexico have taken steps to beef up border security, which bought them about a month’s reprieve from Mr Trump’s earlier Feb 1 deadline to impose the tariffs, based on a national emergency declaration.
Any further delay negotiated ahead of the deadline will keep the tariff threat in place at least until clear evidence emerges that Canadian and Mexican measures are working, said Mr Dan Ujczo, a lawyer specialising in US-Canada trade matters.
“There’s progress being made on the security front,” said Mr Ujczo, senior counsel with Thompson Hine in Columbus, Ohio. “But it’s overly optimistic to think that those tariffs would be fully rescinded.”
The White House, US Trade Representative’s office and Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment on negotiations expected this week ahead of the March 4 deadline.
More tariff threats
Since Mr Trump’s initial 25 per cent tariff threat and imposition of a 10 per cent duty on all Chinese imports, he has heaped more tariff actions that could muddy the waters on border negotiations.
These include substantially raising tariffs on steel and aluminium to a flat 25 per cent,
Mr Trump has also said he wants to impose 25 per cent tariffs on imports of cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, and to match duty rates and trade barriers of other countries.
The threatened tariffs could kick off an early launch of a renegotiation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade that is due by 2026, Mr Ujczo added.
Mr Trump signed the USMCA into law in 2020 after renegotiating the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, but has increasingly expressed dissatisfaction with imports of autos from Mexico and Canada.
Progress cited
On Feb 20, Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said he had a “constructive dialogue” during a meeting with Mr Trump’s top trade officials.
Mr Ebrard said in a post on X that the “joint work” on US trade matters started on Feb 24.
Mexico has begun deploying as many as 10,000 national guard troops to its northern border, as part of the agreement that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said also called on the US to work to stop the flow of firearms into Mexico.
Canada in February created a fentanyl czar position to coordinate the fight against smuggling of the deadly opioid, appointing senior intelligence official Kevin Brosseau to the post.
Ottawa has also reclassified drug cartels as terrorist entities and has deployed drones, helicopters and other surveillance technologies on the vast northern US border.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has kept in close contact with Mr Trump on the border issues in recent days, including in a Feb 22 call that included discussions of joint efforts to curb fentanyl trade.
He has threatened retaliatory tariffs on C$155 billion (S$146 billion) of US imports, including American beer, wine and bourbon and Florida orange juice, but said last week that Canada is “going to do the work” to ensure that tariffs are not imposed. REUTERS
