WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Peter Navarro, senior trade adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, said Mexico had been “very cooperative” on efforts to crack down on the influx of fentanyl into the U.S., and Canada had started to understand that it needed to do more.
Navarro insisted during an event hosted by Politico Live that Trump’s plans to implement 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports – now delayed by one month until March 1 – were squarely focused on cracking down on drugs, not aimed at starting a trade war.
Navarro said Mexican cartels were also expanding rapidly in Canada, which meant Canada had become a leading source of small, duty-free shipments of drugs under the de minimus exemption that will be revoked if the tariffs take effect. Canada also had “big” visa issues and had let people on the “terrorism watchlist” enter the United States, Navarro said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder)
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