The Trump administration has been taking significant foreign policy steps aimed at convincing allies and adversaries alike to come to the bargaining table. And the results have been almost immediate with Panama, Mexico, and now Canada all agreeing to take important steps.
Trump and Mexican President Reach an Initial Deal
President Trump had signed an order over the weekend to impose stiff tariffs on imports from China, Canada, and Mexico. But on Monday morning, Mexico’s president announced that she had a successful conversation with Trump and the U.S. tariffs against her country would be paused for one month. The White House confirmed the agreement.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said both sides have agreed to better border enforcement.
She posted on X, “Mexico will reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard immediately, to stop drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, in particular fentanyl.” And the U.S. reportedly committed to stopping high-powered weapons from reaching Mexico.
Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Reach a Deal Too
By Monday afternoon, the U.S. and Canada had agreed to pause any tariffs, as well.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on X that the pause would occur while they “work together,” saying that his government would name a fentanyl czar, list Mexican cartels as terrorist groups, and launch a “Canada-U.S. joint strike force to combat organized crime, fentanyl, and money laundering.”
Trudeau backtracked after initially retaliating. He had said, “Canada will be responding to the U.S. trade action with 25% tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods. This will include immediate tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods as of Tuesday. Followed by further tariffs on $125 million worth American products in 21 days time to allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives.”
Trump’s Carrot and Stick Approach to China, Canada, and Mexico
In announcing his tariffs, Trump declared an economic emergency and placed a 10 percent tariff on all imports from China and 25 percent on most imports from Mexico and Canada, except a 10 percent rate on Canadian oil.
The Heritage Foundation’s Richard Stern told CBN’s Faith Nation the tariff threats are working and that stopping the flow of deadly drugs into the U.S. is key.
“I would say the most important part is this isn’t really about the economics, this is a negotiating tool, to be able to stop the flood of fentanyl, to be able to deal with these other geopolitical issues,” Stern explained.
Meanwhile, China has now launched some tariffs against the U.S. as well, but Trump says he’ll be talking to Chinese leaders soon. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the regime would “firmly deplore and oppose this move” by taking countermeasures to defend the country’s interests.
Trump has accused all three countries of not doing enough to prevent deadly drugs from being sent into the U.S., especially fentanyl. The tariffs are partly designed to encourage them to do more about the opioid crisis which causes some 70,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. annually.
Trump’s actions are leading to concerns of a potential trade war and higher prices for some specific goods including steel and computer chips, along with some cars, gas, and alcohol. Trump says he doesn’t expect anything very dramatic if he does go ahead with the tariffs.
Panama Starts to Back Away from China
On a separate front, after a visit from new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the president of Panama is promising to end a major development deal with China.
President Jose Raul Mulino says China’s “Belt and Road” initiative in his country will not be renewed and may be ended earlier than planned.
President Trump has been concerned about China’s growing influence in Panama, and the Belt and Road initiative has allowed China to get its hooks into Panama through investments, including $1.3 billion along the canal itself.
As CBN News has reported, the problem of China’s influence spreads well beyond Panama. In recent years, at least 20 Latin American nations have joined China’s Belt and Road initiative in which China invests in a nation’s infrastructure, like the Panama Canal projects and a container port for Peru at the Port of Chancay. Those projects give China more influence over the countries they’ve invested in.
Meanwhile, President Mulino says Panama will keep operating the canal even as President Trump complains China is controlling it and saying he wants the U.S. to be more influential over the critical trade route rather than a communist adversary.
Secretary Rubio tweeted on X, “The United States cannot, and will not, allow the Chinese communist party to continue with its effective and growing control over the Panama Canal area.”
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