By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Canada and Mexico on Friday sought to show U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration evidence of progress in curbing the flow of fentanyl opioids into the U.S. ahead of a March 4 deadline for punishing 25% tariffs on their goods imports.
Canadian and Mexican officials were expected to meet separately with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and other senior Trump administration officials to try to forestall the tariffs.
Trump on Thursday reaffirmed the deadline next Tuesday for imposing the duties on more than $900 billion worth of annual imports from Canada and Mexico and said he would double his 10% tariff on Chinese goods on that date, citing insufficient progress in reducing fentanyl overdose deaths in the U.S.
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 U.S. drug enforcement agent and 28 other suspects.
Rafael Caro Quintero, 72, was due to be arraigned in federal court on U.S. drug trafficking charges on Friday. The extradited suspects included younger leaders accused of moving fentanyl into the U.S.
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 U.S. earlier this month moved to suspend the “de minimis” duty-free exemption for packages valued below $800 that has allowed fentanyl and its precursor chemicals to arrive unscreened through U.S. airports and border crossings.
But as packages piled up, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency paused the suspension until it could put effective screening measures in place.
ZELENSKIY VISIT
On Friday, however, Trump and his top economic officials are more likely to be consumed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to the White House to sign a deal for U.S. participation in Ukraine’s minerals sector as he seeks Trump’s support for the country’s fight against Russia’s invasion.
The fresh China tariffs, in addition to the 10% tariff levied on February 4, coincide with the start of China’s annual parliamentary meetings on Wednesday, a set-piece political event where Beijing is expected to unveil its main economic priorities for 2025.
The announcement also leaves Beijing 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% 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 U.S., chiefly from fentanyl.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Paul Simao)
