Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Proceeds with Tariffs on Imports from Canada and Mexico

Fact Sheets

TLDR

The referenced executive order implements 25% tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian imports under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, citing national security threats from drug trafficking (particularly fentanyl). It claims both countries have failed to combat cartels and illegal immigration effectively. The order frames these tariffs as leverage to force greater cooperation on border security and drug enforcement, continuing the administration’s “America First” trade approach.

President Donald J. Trump has announced the implementation of tariffs on Canada and Mexico under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), citing an extraordinary threat to U.S. national security due to drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl. The order outlines the following justifications and actions:

Key justifications:

  1. Drug Trafficking Crisis: The influx of fentanyl and other narcotics from Mexico and Canada has created a public health emergency and national security threat.
    • Mexican cartels, such as the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, are identified as primary traffickers of fentanyl into the U.S., with 97% of seizures occurring at the southern border.
    • Cartels are accused of operating with impunity in Mexico, benefiting from alleged government corruption and safe havens.
    • Canada is also implicated for its growing role in fentanyl production, with “super labs” capable of producing significant quantities of the drug.
  2. Failure to Act: Both Canada and Mexico are criticized for insufficient efforts to combat drug trafficking, arrest traffickers, or collaborate with U.S. law enforcement.
  3. Broader Border Crisis: The administration ties drug trafficking to illegal immigration, claiming that both exacerbate crime, strain public resources, and harm the economy.

Actions taken:

  • A 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico until both nations take sufficient action to stop drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
  • The tariffs are presented as a continuation of President Trump’s “America First” trade policies, leveraging economic pressure to achieve national security goals.

Historical context:

  • President Trump references his first-term successes in using tariff threats to influence Mexico’s border policies and combating the opioid crisis through public health initiatives.

While this executive order presents a strong stance against drug trafficking, several claims warrant closer scrutiny:

  1. Overstated Role of Tariffs in Combating Drug Trafficking

    • Tariffs primarily serve as economic tools rather than direct solutions for law enforcement or public health crises. While they may pressure governments to act, there is limited evidence that such measures effectively combat transnational criminal organizations like cartels.

  2. Mischaracterization of Canada’s Role

    • While Canada’s involvement in fentanyl production has increased, it remains minor compared to Mexico’s role. Most fentanyl entering the U.S. originates from Mexican cartels, often using precursor chemicals sourced from China. The northern border accounts for a far smaller share of fentanyl seizures compared to the southern border.

  3. Questionable Efficacy of Past Tariff Threats

    • During Trump’s first term, tariff threats on Mexico were credited with securing agreements like the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). However, these measures had mixed results in addressing long-term migration trends or drug trafficking.

  4. Lack of Evidence for Government-Cartel Collaboration

    • While corruption exists within Mexican institutions, blanket accusations that the Mexican government provides “safe havens” for cartels oversimplify a complex issue. Mexico has conducted numerous high-profile operations against cartels, albeit with varying success.

  5. Economic Risks

    • Imposing broad tariffs on two major trading partners could have significant economic repercussions for U.S. consumers and industries reliant on imports from Canada and Mexico. Higher costs for goods could undermine domestic economic stability without guaranteeing reductions in drug trafficking.

While addressing fentanyl trafficking is a critical priority, this executive order’s reliance on tariffs as a primary tool raises questions about its effectiveness and potential unintended consequences. A more comprehensive strategy—including international cooperation, improved border technology, and enhanced domestic public health measures—would likely yield better results than punitive trade measures alone.

REFERENCES

  • 2025-03-05: Trump carves out Canada, Mexico tariff pause for the auto industry — The Trump administration temporarily exempted the auto sector from tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports for one month, offering relief to automakers while maintaining broader tariffs on other imports. The move highlights the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s trade policies, with potential economic impacts and market volatility tied to tariff announcements.
  • 2025-03-04: Tariff war risks sinking world into new Great Depression, International Chamber of Commerce warns — The International Chamber of Commerce warns that the world economy risks a crash similar to the Great Depression unless the U.S. reverses its plans for steep import tariffs, with ICC Deputy Secretary-General Andrew Wilson describing the situation as a potential “downward spiral” into “1930s trade-war territory.” Wilson considers the likelihood of a severe economic blow “a coin-flip” dependent on whether the U.S. reconsiders its tariff strategy, as President Trump has already implemented 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, increased duties on Chinese goods, and promised similar measures for European products, despite economists’ warnings about potential domestic inflation.
  • 2025-03-04: Target issues stark warning on tariff impact following solid Q4 earnings | TheStreet — Target warns of imminent price increases due to tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China. The company expects these price hikes to occur “over the next couple of days” despite posting better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings.

SAFEGUARDING THE NATION:

President Donald J. Trump is proceeding with implementing tariffs on Canada and Mexico under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to combat the extraordinary threat to U.S. national security, including our public health posed by unchecked drug trafficking.

  • 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.
  • The flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl into the United States, through illicit distribution networks, has created a national emergency, including a public health crisis.
  • Mexican drug trafficking organizations, the world’s leading fentanyl traffickers, operate unhindered due to an intolerable relationship with the government of Mexico.
    • The government of Mexico has afforded safe havens for the cartels to engage in the manufacturing and transportation of dangerous narcotics, which collectively have led to the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims.
    • Mexican drug cartels are known for extreme brutality, corruption, and control over entire regions of Mexico.
    • The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels manufacture fentanyl in clandestine labs they oversee in Mexico, in both powder form and pressed into fake pills, and traffic it into the United States through the many entry points they control. 97% of seizures occur at the U.S.-Mexico border.
    • Cartel violence, including armed drones and roadside IEDs, are coming in closer and closer proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border as cartels are more actively targeting one another as well as Mexican military and law enforcement personnel.
    • This alliance with the Mexican government endangers the national security of the United States, and we must eradicate the influence of these dangerous cartels.
  • There is also a growing presence of Mexican cartels operating fentanyl and nitazene synthesis labs in Canada.
    • A recent study recognized Canada’s heightened domestic production of fentanyl, and its growing footprint within international narcotics distribution.
    • Canada-based drug trafficking organizations maintain robust “super labs,” mostly in rural and dense areas in western Canada, some of which can produce 44 to 66 pounds of fentanyl weekly.
    • Last year’s northern border fentanyl seizures, though smaller than Mexico’s, could kill 9.5 million Americans due to the drug’s potency—proof of Canada’s growing role in this crisis.
    • Fentanyl seizures at the northern border in the first four months of this fiscal year are quickly closing in on what was seized the entirety of fiscal year 2022.
  • Both nations’ failure to arrest traffickers, seize drugs, or coordinate with U.S. law enforcement constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to America’s security—demanding IEEPA action to force accountability and protect American lives.

PRESIDENT TRUMP IS KEEPING HIS PROMISE TO STOP THE FLOOD OF ILLEGAL ALIENS AND DRUGS:

When voters overwhelmingly elected Donald J. Trump as President, they gave him a mandate to seal the border. That is exactly what he is doing.

  • The Biden Administration’s policies fueled the worst border crisis in U.S. history.
    • More than 10 million illegal aliens attempted to enter the United States under Biden’s leadership.
    • This problem is not confined to the southern border—encounters at the northern border with Canada are rising as well.
    • The sustained influx of illegal aliens has profound consequences on every aspect of our national life—overwhelming our schools, lowering our wages, reducing our housing supply and raising rents, overcrowding our hospitals, draining our welfare system, and causing crime.
    • Gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illegal drugs and narcotics of all kinds are pouring across our borders and into our communities.
      • Last fiscal year, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended more than 21,000 pounds of fentanyl at our borders, enough fentanyl to kill more than 4 billion people.
      • Since 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has seized more than 25,697 kilograms of fentanyl pills and more than 7,272 kilograms of fentanyl powder at the southern border, and more than 659 kilograms of fentanyl pills and more than 650 kilograms of fentanyl powder at the northern border.
      • From 2021 to present, fentanyl has been the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the U.S., followed by methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin in that order.
      • According to the CDC, 68 percent of all drug poisoning deaths in 2022 and 2023—216,294 total—were caused by synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl.
      • It is estimated that federal officials are only able to seize a fraction of the fentanyl smuggled across the southern border.
      • More Americans are dying from fentanyl overdoses each year than the number of American lives lost in the entirety of the Vietnam War.

BUILDING ON PAST SUCCESS:

President Trump continues to demonstrate his commitment to ensuring U.S. trade policy serves the national interest.

  • As President Trump said in the Presidential Memorandum on American First Trade Policy, trade policy is a critical component in national security.
  • President Trump promised in November to “sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders. This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
  • During his first term as President of the United States, President Trump established the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis and declared the Opioid Crisis a public health emergency.
  • President Trump also has a long record of putting America first on trade. In his first term, President Trump successfully used threats of tariffs on Mexico to help secure our border.
  • When our national security was threatened by a global oversupply of steel and aluminum, President Trump took swift action to protect America’s national security by implementing tariffs on imports of these goods.