President Donald Trump has postponed 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war. The White House insists its tariffs are about stopping the smuggling of fentanyl,

Citing the unchecked flow of fentanyl, he plans to levy a 25% tariff on most products from our northern and southern neighbors. China faces an additional 10% levy.

President Trump said illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at “unacceptable levels” and that import taxes would force other countries to crack down on the trafficking.

In a post to Truth Social, President Donald Trump blamed Canada, Mexico and China for 100,000 deaths in 2024 caused by fentanyl and other drugs and vowed to take action starting next week.

In exchange for delaying tariffs, Trump had insisted that Mexico crack down on cartels, illegal migration and fentanyl production.

In a rare bipartisan move, two senators have introduced legislation in the latest attempt to fight the flow of fentanyl and its precursors into the U.S. from China, Mexico and through other borders.

President Trump has announced that tariffs on Canada and Mexico will take effect March 4, ending a temporary pause after both nations failed to meet his demands for increased border security and fentanyl trafficking control.

Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall told the U.S. Senate on Wednesday that the economic toll of fentanyl is staggering as China smuggles precursors into Mexico for the cartels to ship north. His testimony followed a news release Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

Posting on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said that illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at "unacceptable levels" and that import taxes would force other countries to crack down on the trafficking.

President Trump says planned tariffs on Canada and Mexico will go into effect on Tuesday because too much fentanyl is pouring across U.S. borders.

A White House official, however, said Trump’s previous March 4 deadline for the 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods remained in effect “as of this moment,” pending his review of Mexican and Canadian actions to secure their borders and halt the flow of migrants and the opioid fentanyl into the U.