Kevin Hassett, director of the Trump administration's National Economic Council, said the US has not launched a trade war with Mexico and Canada, but it is a “drug war.”
Hassett joined ABC News' “This Week,” where he spoke about the evolving nature of President Trump's tariffs on his neighbouring countries.
“What happened was that we launched a drug war rather than a trade war and was part of the negotiations to stop Canada and Mexico from halting fentanyl shipping across our border,” Hassett said.
Trump proposed a 25% tariff plan as a way to ensure that neighbors are restrained through the flow of immigration and fentanyl across shared borders. The tariffs have been suspended for a month after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to support the border.
Hassett said Trump has signed tariff exemptions for most imports from both countries and could delay implementation until April 2, as the US has seen progress in stopping fentanyl from entering the country.
“We saw them progress in the war on drugs and we eased some of the tariffs they put on because they're progressing,” Hassett said. “So that war on drugs has actually been going on since the beginning of the Trump administration.”
Hassett later added that the administration hopes to resolve the drug war “by the end of the month.”
“Hopefully, we'll actually cut back on the cartel people and stop the flow of fentanyl, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, then focus on mutual things,” he said of Trump's mutual tariff plans.
The administration tried to restructure its actions as concerns about Trump's tariff plans began to emerge. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick similarly called tariffs the “war on drugs” rather than a “trade war.”
