Trudeau: Tariffs paused for 30 days after call with Trump, will appoint ‘fentanyl czar’ 

World News: Canada
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By Omid Ghoreishi and Matthew Horwood 
Contributing Writers 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says tariffs have been put on pause after a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday. 

Trudeau announced in a post on social media that he had a “good call” with the president on Monday afternoon. 

“Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together,” he said. 

Trudeau said Ottawa made new commitments to appoint a “fentanyl czar” and list cartels as terrorists. Trudeau also said he signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl backed with $200 million in funding. 

Trudeau also highlighted Ottawa’s $1.3 billion border plan introduced back in December, which included the creation of a new North American task force targeting organized crime and synthetic drug trafficking, as well as 24/7 border surveillance, and new funding for helicopters and drones. 

U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian goods on Tuesday, while oil and gas exports would be tariffed at 10%. 

Trudeau announced on Saturday that, in response, Canada would impose an initial $30 billion in retaliatory tariffs on Tuesday, with $125 billion in additional tariffs being imposed by Canada in late February. 

While Mexico was also set to be hit with 25% tariffs on Tuesday, Trump announced earlier in the day on Monday that, following a phone call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the tariffs on Mexico would be delayed for one month. This came after the country agreed to deploy 10,000 Mexican soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border to stop drug trafficking and illegal immigration. 

Trump said on Truth Social that he and Sheinbaum had a “very friendly conversation” about border security, and that the two sides would be attempting to achieve a “deal” throughout February. 

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office prior to the phone call, Trump had reiterated that he wanted to see Canada become the 51st American state. “So, I’d love to see that, but some people say that would be a long shot,” he said. 

“If [Canada] wanted to play the game right, it would be 100% certain that they’d become a state,” he said. 

This is a developing story, updates will follow. 

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