Mexico, Canada seek to forestall Trump's tariffs with anti-drug efforts

WASHINGTON: Canada and Mexico on Friday (Feb 28) sought to show US President Donald Trump's administration evidence of progress in curbing the flow of fentanyl opioids into the US ahead of a March 4 deadline for punishing 25 per cent tariffs on their goods imports.

China, facing an extra US import duty of 10 per cent on Tuesday, accused the US of "tariff pressure and blackmail" over fentanyl and warned that it would backfire.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a daily briefing in Beijing on Friday that Trump's latest tariff threat, which comes on top of 10 per cent US duties on Chinese goods imposed on February 4, "has created a serious impact, pressure, coercion and threat to the dialogue and cooperation between the two sides in the field of drug control".

In Washington, Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard described a meeting with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as a "cordial working meeting" in a post on X. He added that the US and Mexico "have a great future working together" but offered no details on discussions over the US tariff deadline.
 

Trump on Thursday reaffirmed the deadline next Tuesday for imposing the duties on more than US$900 billion worth of annual imports from Canada and Mexico, citing insufficient progress in reducing fentanyl overdose deaths in the US.

Mexico on Thursday staged its largest mass extradition of suspected drug cartel members in 10 years, including a 1980s kingpin who spent decades in prison for the murder of a US drug enforcement agent and 28 other suspects.

Rafael Caro Quintero, 72, pleaded not guilty on Friday in federal court in New York on US drug trafficking charges that could result in his execution. The other extradited suspects included younger leaders accused of moving fentanyl into the US.

Mexico's Deputy Economy Minister Vidal Llerenas said on Thursday that Mexico could adopt other trade measures beyond the recent tariffs it imposed on certain imports to reduce low-value shipments from China.

The US earlier this month moved to suspend the "de minimis" duty-free exemption for packages valued below US$800 that has allowed fentanyl and its precursor chemicals to arrive unscreened through US airports and border crossings.

But as packages piled up, the US Customs and Border Protection agency paused the suspension until it could put effective screening measures in place.

ZELENSKYY DISTRACTION

On Friday, however, Trump and his top economic officials were also consumed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the White House which erupted into a shouting match between the two president over the Russia-Ukraine war and Zelenskyy's failure to sign a US minerals agreement.

The Tuesday tariff deadline for China coincides with the start of its annual parliamentary meetings on Wednesday, a set-piece political event where Beijing is expected to unveil its main economic priorities for 2025.

Trump's announcement leaves Beijing with less than a week to publish countermeasures, as the Trump administration shows signs of a hardening stance towards its strategic rival despite backing down on the threat of 60 per cent tariffs when Trump took office on January 20.

"There are ongoing discussions with the Chinese, Mexico and Canada," a White House official told Reuters on Thursday. "We've gotten a good handle on the migration issue, but there are still concerns on the other issue of fentanyl deaths".

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 72,776 people died from synthetic opioids in 2023 in the US, chiefly from fentanyl.