President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon said he would pause his newly-imposed tariffs on imports from Canada, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would spend $1.3 billion to beef up security along the northern border.
Trudeau, in a post on X, said Canada would appoint a “Fentanyl Czar” to combat drug trafficking and would also be sending 10,000 “frontline personnel” to “ensure 24/7 eyes on the border.”
The move mirrors the 10,000 troops Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country would be sending to the southern border earlier on Monday — a decision that also led to Trump pausing his tariffs on Mexican goods for 30 days. The tariffs on Canadian imports will also be paused for 30 days, following the new measures taken by Canada.
“Canada has agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like Fentanyl that have been pouring into our Country, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, while destroying their families and communities all across our Country,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
President Trump added he is “very pleased with this initial outcome,” and he plans on working towards a “final Economic deal” with Trudeau in the month ahead.
The paused tariffs on Mexico and Canada come just two days after Trump announced he was implementing 25% tariffs on both countries. Trump, in his Saturday announcement of the tariffs, made it clear drug trafficking was a key driver behind his decision, saying the “flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl” had “created a national emergency, including a public health crisis.”
Trump’s tariffs shocked Wall Street on Monday morning, with 19 of the 20 biggest publicly traded companies seeing their stocks drop in the first hour of trading. The market bounced back a bit bounce after the pause on Mexican tariffs was announced. When markets closed, the Nasdaq was down 1.20%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.76%, and the Dow 30 decreased 0.28%.
