OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Following her phone call with President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed her confidence in averting a tariff war with the United States.
“There will be no potential tariff war,” Sheinbaum said flatly when asked about the issue at her daily morning news briefing, Fox News noted.
Trump said on Wednesday that Sheinbaum had committed to halting illegal immigration into the United States. On the same day, Sheinbaum shared on social media that “we take care of caravans and migrants before they reach the border.”
“Just had a wonderful conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo,” he wrote on Truth Social. “She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border. We also talked about what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, U.S. consumption of these drugs. It was a very productive conversation!”
In a subsequent post, he said that: “Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately. THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE USA. Thank you!!!”
Sheinbaum said in a post on X that she had a phone chat with Trump about “strengthening collaboration on security issues” and that the exchange was “excellent.”
Trump has long bemoaned Mexico’s lack of action to curb the flow of illegal narcotics and people across its southern border.
In a post on X, Sheinbaum said she explained the “comprehensive strategy” Mexico has employed to address the “the migration phenomenon, respecting human rights.”
“Thanks to this, migrants and caravans are assisted before they reach the border,” she wrote. “We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”
Trump threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on China due to the significant amounts of fentanyl entering the U.S. from Mexico.
Drug cartels use Chinese precursors to manufacture illicit fentanyl in Mexico, which they then smuggle across the border.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their lives to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and can be lethal in little amounts. It also plays a role in many drug overdose deaths.
Trump announced on Wednesday that he would be developing a comprehensive advertising campaign outlining the risks associated with fentanyl.
“Millions of lives being so needlessly destroyed. By the time the Campaign is over, everyone will know how really bad the horror of this Drug is,” he said.
In response to the threat of more tariffs, the China Daily newspaper – which is run by the Chinese Communist Party – published an editorial saying, “The excuse the president-elect has given to justify his threat of additional tariffs on imports from China is far-fetched.”
Since his first administration, Trump has consistently urged Mexico to take more active measures to prevent the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the United States.
In a joint statement, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said America’s northern neighbor and the U.S. have “one of the strongest and closest relationships–particularly when it comes to trade and border security.”
“Canada places the highest priority on border security and the integrity of our shared border. Our relationship today is balanced and mutually beneficial, particularly for American workers,” they said. “Today, Canada buys more from the United States than China, Japan, France, and the UK combined. Canada is essential to US domestic energy supply, and last year 60 percent of US crude oil imports originated in Canada.”
“Law enforcement agencies from our respective countries—the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the US Drug Enforcement Administrations, and US Customs and Border Protection—work together every single day to disrupt the scourge of the fentanyl coming from China and other countries,” they noted further.
“In addition, the CBSA is continuously strengthening its ability to detect opioids through enhanced inspections at ports of entry, detector dogs, and emerging technologies, preventing opioids from entering and leaving Canada,” they said.
In a later statement, Trump announced he would implement an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods imported into the U.S. due to the “massive amounts” of drugs, particularly fentanyl, being smuggled across the border.
Trump stated that he has spoken with Chinese officials regarding the fentanyl entering the U.S. He noted that the communist nation had previously promised to execute drug dealers involved in this illicit trade but ultimately failed to follow through.
“Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America,” Trump also wrote on Truth.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times more potent than heroin, can be deadly even in small amounts. It has contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans and plays a major role in the rise of drug overdoses. Many illegal drugs are laced with fentanyl to increase their potency and reduce costs, often without users’ knowledge, Fox Business reported.
U.S. officials often state that illicit fentanyl is produced in Mexico using precursors imported from China and is subsequently smuggled across the border by drug cartels.
“Indeed, unknown to most Americans, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is actively funding, supporting, and pushing America’s most deadly drug threat in history,” reads a Heritage Foundation report called “Holding China and Mexico Accountable for America’s Fentanyl Crisis.”
