Trump’s threats of tariffs as a response to migration and the fentanyl overdose crisis

On November 25, president-elect Donald Trump pledged to impose a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada until these countries “solve” undocumented migration and illicit fentanyl trafficking into the United States. Trump also announced plans for an additional 10 percent tariff on goods from China.

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, responded that tariffs would lead to inflation and job loss, not to solutions. She also implied that Mexico would impose retaliatory tariffs. Trump and Sheinbaum later reported having a productive phone call, though each described the conversation differently: Trump claimed Sheinbaum had agreed to stop migration to the U.S. border, while Sheinbaum clarified that this had not been her message.

Below, we take a look at the implications of Trump’s tariff threats for migration, the synthetic drug overdose crisis, and U.S.-Mexico relations.