Late Saturday, Canada, Mexico, and China responded to Trump’s executive order imposing tariffs over their alleged failure to curb the fentanyl crisis. Just hours after the order was signed and set for implementation on Tuesday, all three nations announced strong retaliatory measures.
In a 20-minute press conference, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed anger over the tariffs, revealing he had been coordinating with Mexico’s president to push back. He admitted he hadn’t spoken to Trump since the inauguration. He went on to announce that Canada would impose a 25% tariff on beer, bourbon, wine, fruit, vegetables, perfume, clothing, and shoes—totaling $155 billion in U.S. goods over 30 days.
Trudeau also appealed directly to Americans, while several Canadian provinces threatened to remove U.S. alcohol from stores and double fees for American commercial vehicles crossing into Canada
You can watch the full press conference here:
Mexico also announced its response, threatening new, but unspecific sanctions.
The New York Post quoted Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo:
“If the United States government and its agencies wanted to address the serious consumption of fentanyl in their country, they could, for example, combat the sale of narcotics on the streets of their main cities, which they do not do, and the money laundering generated by this illegal activity that has done so much harm to their population,”
Sheinbaum also stated that she had instructed her economy minister “to implement Plan B,” which includes “tariff and non-tariff measures,” though she did not specify what those measures would entail.
“To this end, I propose to President Trump that we establish a working group with our best public health and security teams. Problems are not resolved by imposing tariffs, but by talking and dialoguing, as we did in recent weeks with your State Department to address the phenomenon of migration; in our case, with respect for human rights,” Sheinbaum said.
Meanwhile, China, while more reserved in its response, threatened legal action. According to the New York Post, China announced that it will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization and take “corresponding countermeasures to resolutely safeguard our own rights and interests.”
“China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes this,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
President Donald Trump has responded to the criticism via Truth Social.
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