Trump Loves Tariffs. Fentanyl Is Just an Excuse.
When President Donald Trump imposed his long-threatened 25 percent tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico last night, the White House declared the trade barriers are necessary “to combat the extraordinary threat to U.S. national security, including our public health,” caused by “the flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl into the United States.”
The stock market promptly plummeted. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would respond with 25 percent tariffs of its own on $155 billion worth of goods from the U.S. (In a post on Truth Social, Trump fired back: “our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!”) China declared that it would impose tariffs of up to 15 percent on U.S. agricultural imports, and President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said her country would impose retaliatory tariffs as well.
Trump originally announced the new tariffs last month, but he agreed to pause their implementation when Canada and Mexico agreed to step up their border enforcement. (That order also imposed tariffs on China, which were not paused.) The White House noted in this week’s announcement, “While President Trump gave both Canada and Mexico ample opportunity to curb the dangerous cartel activity and influx of lethal drugs flowing into our country, they have failed to adequately address the situation.”
If tariffs are a poor method of collecting revenue or strengthening trade, they’re even less effective at stopping the flow of illegal drugs across a border.
Indeed, if the tariffs are primarily intended to halt fentanyl, then it’s strange to include Canada in the first place.
Of the 7,793 pounds of fentanyl seized in the U.S. since September, the BBC reports, citing U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics, 98 percent “was intercepted at the southwest border with Mexico. Less than 1% was seized across the northern US border with Canada. The remainder was f
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