Canada-Mexico Pace With Border Security Time To Limit Fentanil To Avoid Trump's Tariff Sanctions

JAKARTA - Canada and Mexico are expected to intensify efforts this week to avoid a 25 percent tariff sentence on their exports to the United States.

The two countries are trying to convince President Donald Trump's administration that their move is to increase border security and curb fentanyl trade successfully ahead of March 4.

Canada and Mexico are taking steps to increase border security, which gives them a one-month rate relief that could bring disaster to North America's highly integrated economy.

Negotiations this week, along with a new report from the Department of Homeland Security, will help determine whether the Trump administration will extend the suspension of tariffs for longer, said Dan Ujczo, a lawyer who specializes in US-Canada trade matters.

Even if that happens, he said, Trump will likely maintain the threat of tariffs at least until there is clear evidence that the border action stops the flow of migrants and fentanyls.

"There has been progress in the security sector," said Ujczo, Thompson Hine's senior adviser in Columbus, Ohio.

"But too optimistic to think that the tariff will be canceled completely," he added.

The White House, the US Trade Representative office, and the Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment on the expected negotiations this week ahead of the deadline for applying tariffs on March 4.

The tariff will apply to US imports from the two countries worth more than $918 billion, from automotive to energy.