Homeland Security Department Christa Noem said on Sunday that Mexican and Canadian leaders have their own “political environment,” but President Trump knows that it means “business” on tariffs.
“We all recognize that each of these leaders has a political environment in their home country, but President Trump means business, and when he ran again to President of the United States and he took office, he put America first, so he meant that.”
Last week, the president imposed a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and added a 10% tariff on Chinese goods. Trump cited his country's inspiration for the fentanyl flow, but experts point out that many of the drugs will not come to the United States through the border with Canada.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went after Trump's tariffs targeting Canada on Tuesday, noting the editors of the Wall Street Journal called “Silly.”
“Now, I want to talk directly to certain Americans,” Trudeau said at the time. “Donald, in the eight years you and I worked together, we've done a lot of things. We've signed a historic deal that has brought record-breaking work and growth in both of our countries.”
“We've done a great job on the world stage, just as Canada and the US have been together for generations for decades, and now we should work together to further enhance the prosperity of North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world.”
Later in the week, Trump advanced tariff exemptions on imports from Canada and Mexico in line with the 2020 North American trade agreement.
On Sunday, Noem said the president is “taking action to clean up the mess left behind by Joe Biden and make sure there is a safer country where Americans can look forward to the future.”
