Commerce Secretary Says Trump Will Not Ease Up On Fentanyl-Related Tariffs

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on March 9 that President Donald Trump is likely to maintain his tariff pressure on Mexico, Canada, and China regarding their role in fentanyl trafficking into the United States.

“If fentanyl ends, I think these will come off. But if fentanyl does not end, or he’s uncertain about it, he will stay this way until he is comfortable,” Lutnick said in a Sunday interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“This is black and white. You got to save American lives.”

Lutnick added that 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will take effect as scheduled on March 12. Both Canada and Mexico are leading exporters of the metals to the United States, with Canada responsible for most aluminum imports.

The commerce secretary also dismissed fears that the president’s global tariffs will lead to a recession in the United States.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “There’s going to be no recession in America.”

The tariffs will lead to higher prices for Americans on certain foreign-made goods, Lutnick said.

“Some products that are made foreign might be more expensive, but American products will get cheaper, and that’s the point,” he said.

While Trump resumed 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada on March 4, he granted a one-month delay for any automakers that comply with the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Additionally, oil and energy from Canada covered under that agreement will also be exempt from tariffs, while roughly 50 percent of goods leaving Mexico will remain subject to the 25 percent import tax.

“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement,” Trump announced on Truth Social on March 6.

Canada has also modified its counter-tariffs on the United States, leaving $30 billion worth of tariffs it levied on American goods in place, but will be halting a planned second round of $125 billion in tariffs, Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said.

That remaining round of tariffs has been postponed until April 2, the same day that Trump’s partial tariff exemption for Canada is set to expire.

Meanwhile, individual Canadian provinces are moving forward with their own tariffs.

Ontario is continuing with a 25 percent tax on electricity sent to roughly 1.5 million customers in three northern U.S. states beginning next week, Premier Doug Ford told Fox News in a March 6 interview. The province has also removed American alcohol from its provincially run liquor stores, is banning U.S. procurement contracts, and is canceling Ontario’s $100-million contract with tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service.

British Columbia has also removed American-made alcohol from its liquor stores and instituted a government-wide directive to limit buying American products.

Jennifer Cowan, Emel Akan, and Reuters contributed to this report.