Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that President Trump agreed to delay tariffs on her country by one month after the pair discussed additional border measures.
Ms. Sheinbaum, writing on X, said Mexico agreed to reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to prevent drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl, from Mexico to the United States.
Mr. Trump confirmed the deal, calling it a “great talk with Mexico.”
Speaking from the Oval Office, he said Mexican soldiers will be at the border “permanently — like, forever,” and will focus on fentanyl and illegal immigration.
There will be further negotiations headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Scott Bessent and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and “high-level Representatives of Mexico.”
The agreement is a major development in the emerging North American trade war.
SEE ALSO: Trump stands pat on North American tariffs, says European Union is next
Mr. Trump announced he planned to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, starting on Tuesday, though leaders are discussing policy changes. China will face an additional 10% tariff because fentanyl precursor chemicals continue to flow from its factories to places like Mexico.
The U.S. president is scheduled to speak to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday afternoon. It is unclear if they’ll strike a deal or if the tariff situation will be split into separate arrangements for Mexico and Canada.
Mr. Trump said he also planned to speak to Chinese officials soon.
“You’re gonna see, you’re gonna see. Every single one of those countries is dying to make a deal,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump is known for playing hardball with foreign nations to get concessions. However, the Mexico delay was a turnabout from days ago, when Mr. Trump said there was nothing Canada or Mexico could do to stave off the tariffs.
Mr. Trump’s partners hailed the president as a master negotiator who uses tariffs to gain much-needed concessions.
SEE ALSO: Japanese, South Korean markets rocked by Trump’s tariffs
“For three days a lot of the far left has actively rooted against America and argued we’d get nothing out of President Trump’s demands that Mexico secure its country. Well, how do you like them apples?” Vice President J.D. Vance tweeted with a screenshot of Mr. Trump’s announcement on the Mexico delay.
The president’s detractors sensed that Mr. Trump caved after seeing turmoil on Wall Street.
“The president created this chaos, got spooked by the markets, and immediately folded,” said Rep. Richard Neal, Massachusetts Democrat. “The stakes are too high for the American people to trust this pause.”
Mr. Trump and Mr. Trudeau have an icy relationship, so it is unclear whether they can find a way to delay the Canadian tariffs. Hockey fans booed the American national anthem at hockey games in Canada, an unusual development that reflected Canadians’ frustration with their treatment by Mr. Trump.
Canadian leaders said they’ve yanked American alcohol products from shelves in provinces’ liquor stores.
Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, said American companies will be banned from provincial contracts.
“U.S.-based businesses will now lose out on tens of billions of dollars in new revenues. They only have President Trump to blame,” Mr. Ford wrote on X.
Also, he took aim at the satellite internet company run by Elon Musk, a major Trump ally.
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” Mr. Ford wrote. “Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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