Industry groups argue that imposing widespread tariffs won’t solve the fentanyl crisis. Families affected by it support the move.
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration issued a series of press releases on Sunday, reaffirming President Donald Trump’s stance on tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China as a “necessary solution.”
Trump pushed back on the arguments made by critics, including some business groups and the Wall Street Journal, who believe the tariffs will drive inflation, hurting consumers and the overall economy.
“The ‘Tariff Lobby,’ headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify countries like Canada, Mexico, China,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday morning.
He accused them of enabling the decades-long “rip-off of America” through trade, crime, and the influx of drugs into the country.
“Those days are over!” he added, in all caps.
After this message, the White House released a detailed report with data and sources, to defend tariffs and highlight their existing positive impact on the U.S. economy, job growth, and their role in reducing the trade deficit. In another release, the White House criticized the Wall Street Journal, accusing it of supporting “America Last policies.”
The White House report stated that the overdose deaths from fentanyl in the United States increased nearly 25-fold between 2012 and 2022.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18-45, estimated to claim 74,702 lives in 2023, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Most of the fentanyl entering the country is produced in Mexico using chemical precursors imported from China, the report said, noting that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) actively supports these operations through tax rebates and grants, and even holds stakes in companies involved in trafficking fentanyl and its precursors.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is more potent than morphine and heroin, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
There are two major drug cartels in Mexico that flood the United States with fentanyl, fueling the worst drug crisis in American history.
CBP data showed that in fiscal year 2024, officials seized 21,148 pounds of fentanyl at the U.S. Southwest border—which is “enough to kill 4.8 billion people,” the White House said.
While not as large as Mexico’s drug trafficking, there’s a growing amount of fentanyl being smuggled into the United States through Canada as well in recent years.
The White House said 43 pounds of fentanyl were seized at the northern border last fiscal year, enough to potentially kill 9.8 million Americans.
Sandra Martinez from California lost her daughter to fentanyl in 2020 after the young American suffered a traumatic event.
“I’m so thankful that Trump is back in the seat and can take control, and I’m so thankful that he went through this process,” Martinez told The Epoch Times, referring to the new tariffs.
Evelyn Jones, a Trump supporter whose child has been affected by the drugs, said “fentanyl and synthetic drugs have destroyed families in the United States.”
She told The Epoch Times that even if the kids no longer use synthetic drugs, the impact lingers, because they suffer from a “mental illness epidemic.”
Reactions to Tariffs
Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China starting on Feb. 1 over the countries’ roles in facilitating the influx of illicit fentanyl as well as illegal immigrants into the United States.
He signed an executive order imposing a 25 percent tariff on all non-energy imports from Canada and a 10 percent tariff on energy imports, effective from Feb. 4. In separate executive orders, he imposed a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Mexico and an additional 10 percent tariff on all imports from China. These tariffs will be additional to existing levies.
Many U.S. industry leaders reacted to the announcement, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC).
“The President is right to focus on major problems like our broken border and the scourge of fentanyl, but the imposition of tariffs under IEEPA is unprecedented, won’t solve these problems, and will only raise prices for American families and upend supply chains,” John Murphy, vice president of USCC, said in a statement.
Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said the tariffs would harm key export markets that American farmers and manufacturers rely on.
“Widespread tariff actions on Mexico, Canada, and China announced this evening will inject massive costs into our inflation-weary economy while exposing us to a damaging tit-for-tat tariff war,” Lamar said in a statement.
In response to Trump’s message, the Wall Street Journal editorial board also published an op-ed titled, “The Dumbest Trade War Fallout Begins.”
“We appreciate Mr. Trump’s attention, though we’re anti-tariff and not lobbyists,” the editorial board wrote. “But bad policy has damaging consequences, whether or not Mr. Trump chooses to admit it.”
Both Canada and Mexico pledged retaliation in response to Trump’s tariffs.
The impact of tariffs on Canada’s and Mexico’s smaller economies is expected to be much more severe than in the United States, according to analysts.
“Since exports to the U.S. account for around 20 percent of their GDP, today’s tariffs could plunge both the Canadian and Mexican economies into recession later this year,” Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at London-based research firm Capital Economics, said in a report.
White House Responds to Critics
The White House defended tariffs by referencing a 2024 McKinsey analysis that found tariffs could reduce competition, boost demand for U.S. goods, and create U.S. jobs. It cited another report that showed tariffs led to significant reshoring in industries like manufacturing and steel production.
“President Trump’s global tariffs on steel created over 4,000 new American jobs,” the White House said.
Its report also highlighted the reduction in the trade deficit with China since the first Trump administration imposed tariffs on a wide range of China-made goods.
“President Trump’s 2018 tariffs were so effective that the Biden administration had no choice but to continue and expand them,” the report stated.
It also referred to former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s claim that tariffs don’t significantly raise prices, as well as a bipartisan group of senators who asked President Joe Biden to reimpose steel tariffs on Mexico in September 2024.
The White House also said that the threat of tariffs is working, as it is pushing companies to move production to the United States. It cited statements from CEOs considering relocating production to avoid the tariffs.
Following the tariff news, stock futures tumbled Sunday night.