What did US get from deals to pause tariffs on Canada and Mexico? Not that much, observers say

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico — now on hold for a month — risked blowing up North America’s economy. What did the United States get out of his deals to pause the import taxes against the two nations?

Not all that much, according to people outside the administration looking at the agreements.

The U.S. president has been openly pugnacious with America’s two largest trade partners. His orders to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico and on most imports from Canada, with a lesser 10% tax on its energy products, created a sudden political and economic firestorm. Separately, 10% tariffs went into effect on China on Tuesday.

By agreeing to the pause for Mexico and Canada, Trump has been able to tell his supporters that he brokered a smart deal and to declare victory in addressing illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Canada will have a new “fentanyl czar,” and Mexico pledged to deploy 10,000 members of its National Guard. The White House sent out an email with 68 Republican lawmakers praising him after the pauses were announced.

But many of those outside the White House looking at the tariffs drama say little was accomplished, arguing that the measures taken by the two U.S. neighbors were already in place or likely could have been achieved without Trump’s ultimatums. Even the financial markets seemed to shrug off the showdown with a modest sell-off on Monday.

Weeks ago, Canada offered $1.3 billion Canadian dollars ($900 million) for border security with a package that included drones, helicopters, more border guards and the creation of a joint task force. On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said after talks with Trump that they added the fentanyl czar and agreed to list Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations.

“Canada did not bend the knee,” Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said. “There is such a small flow of fentanyl into the United States from Canada that it will be tough to show the president that there’s been gigantic reduction because there’s not a gigantic start to begin with compared to the southern border.”