U.S. pauses tariffs on Canada after border deal

Update, 5:15 p.m.:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said the United States will pause its planned 25% tariffs against Canada for the next 30 days. U.S. President Donald Trump also confirmed the decision. The pause on the tariffs came after Trudeau’s announcement that Canada will list drug cartels as terrorist groups, appoint a new fentanyl czar, and conduct around-the-clock observation of its shared border with the United States.

Canada will also redirect more money and intelligence resources to combat fentanyl and organized crime, Trudeau said. The U.S. and Canada will also establish a new joint task force to counter organized crime, drug trafficking, and money laundering, he said. These measures came in addition to $1.3 billion worth of new border security measures Trudeau promised late last year.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Associated Press / Photo by Marco Ugarte

Update, 11:40 a.m.:

U.S. pauses Mexico tariff pending security promise

The United States was pausing its 25% tariff against Mexico for one month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday. President Donald Trump issued a statement on Monday confirming Sheinbaum’s remarks. She held a news conference after agreeing to send Mexican troops to the countries’ shared border. The 10,000 Mexican National Guard troops will work to counter the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, she said. Meanwhile, the United States would work to counter the flow of high-powered firearms into Mexico, she added.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Associated Press / Photo by Justin Tang, The Canadian Press

Initial post, 10:15 a.m.: 

Canada, China, Mexico promise tariff response

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday said his country was imposing a 25% tariff on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods heading north. The tariffs came after President Donald Trump’s administration put into effect a 25% tariff against Canada. The White House also said it would be imposing a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and a 10% tariff on goods from China. Trump said the tariffs were a consequence of the three countries’ failure to properly address drug trafficking and other border security failures that have plagued the United States in recent years. The White House’s Saturday announcement also mentioned a U.S. trade deficit as a reason for the tariffs.

What are China and Mexico doing to respond to the tariffs? Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to Trump’s tariffs on Sunday by urging cooperation and calling for discussion between the two countries. Mexico’s secretary of the economy on Saturday, however, said on Saturday that he’d spoken with his country’s president and that a “plan B” response was underway—a response referencing earlier remarks by Sheinbaum. Her office planned a press conference later on Monday.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday that it firmly opposed the U.S. tariffs and that Beijing would implement countermeasures as necessary. Continuing to bargain with Beijing through tariffs would harm both the United States and China, the ministry added. The foreign ministry claimed that China was one of the toughest nations when it came to cracking down on illegal drug trafficking.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift from Friday about White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the tariffs would go into effect over the weekend.