Washington [US], February 4: US President Donald Trump on February 3 postponed imposing high tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 30 days, but kept US tariffs on China unchanged.
According to Reuters, President Trump 's move is aimed at gaining concessions on border enforcement and crime from Canada and Mexico.
Both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said they had agreed to step up border enforcement efforts in response to Trump's demands to crack down on immigration and drug trafficking. This means the U.S. will suspend its 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days.
Trudeau said Canada would deploy new technology and personnel along the US border to stop the flow of fentanyl . There was no immediate confirmation from the White House, but Trump told reporters that his phone call with Trudeau on February 3 went "very well."
Mexico agreed to reinforce its northern border with 10,000 National Guard members to stem the flow of illegal migrants and drugs. Sheinbaum said the U.S. also pledged to stop the trafficking of heavy weapons to Mexico.
Mr Trump said on social media that the US and Mexico would use the month-long suspension to engage in further negotiations. "As President, it is my responsibility to keep all Americans safe and I am doing just that. I am very pleased with this initial result," Mr Trump shared on social media.
The agreements are averting the risk of a trade war that economists predict would hurt the economies of all parties involved and lead to higher prices for consumers.
The deal comes less than 48 hours after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on goods from America's top three trading partners, accounting for $2.1 trillion in annual trade.
"Hopefully China will stop sending us fentanyl, and if they don't, the tariffs will go up substantially," Trump said. Tariffs on China are still set to kick in at 00:01 on February 4, US time. The US leader also warned that he could continue to raise tariffs on Beijing.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
