General
Trump Calls Canada a Big Player in the Fentanyl Trade. Is It?
President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Canada over drug trafficking, equating it with Mexico. U.S. government reports do not support the claim.
Standing behind heaping piles of drugs stacked in clear plastic bags and storage boxes, Toronto’s police chief last week announced the force’s largest-ever cocaine seizure, intercepted at the border in a truck entering from the United States. A few hours later, President Trump also addressed cross-border drug trafficking — but in his case to lay blame on Canada, at least in part, for a deadly fentanyl scourge.
“The fentanyl coming through Canada is massive,” Mr. Trump told reporters the day after his inauguration. “The fentanyl coming through Mexico is massive. And people are getting killed and families are being destroyed.”
It was a repeat of his claim that Canada and Mexico have not done enough to reinforce their borders and block the flow of narcotics — and migrants — to the United States. Hehas threatened to impose punitive tariffs of 25 percent on exports from both countries on Feb. 1.
Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary nominee, reiterated that stance at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, calling for Canada to “respect America.”
“If we are your biggest trading partner, show us the respect,” Mr. Lutnick said. “Shut your border and end fentanyl coming into this country.”
To stave off the threatened tariffs, the Canadian government has been sending drones, canine units and helicopters to support surveillance at the border. But recent announcements by law enforcement officials about those efforts and assurances from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada seem to have done little to appease the new U.S. administration.
