Trump halts tariffs, Mexico to send troops to border

In his post, Trump mentioned that during a "very friendly" conversation with Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum, it was agreed that Mexico will send approximately 10,000 soldiers to the U.S. border. Their role will be to "stop the influx of fentanyl and illegal immigrants" to the United States. As part of this agreement, the previously planned tariffs will be suspended for a month, providing time for negotiations involving Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the heads of the departments of finance and commerce, Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick.

"I can't wait to participate in these negotiations with President Sheinbaum, as we try to reach an 'agreement' between our countries," Trump wrote.

Sheinbaum also confirmed the suspension of tariffs.

The suspension of tariffs came less than a day before they were scheduled to take effect. Earlier in 2024, Mexico had sent troops to the border region in response to increased violence in Juarez. The official reason given for imposing high tariffs on Mexico was the "influx of fentanyl and illegal immigrants," although Trump also mentioned a trade deficit with Mexico, Canada, and China.

Trump also reported speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the tariffs and announced that he will have another conversation with him at 3 PM Eastern Time. In the same post, he accused Canada of not allowing American banks to operate.

According to statistics from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP), less than 1 percent of drugs intercepted by U.S. authorities are smuggled through Canada. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also show that over the past year, the number of drug overdose deaths, including fentanyl, has declined to levels below 90,000 annually.

The "Wall Street Journal" notes that just after the announcement of the suspension of tariffs, American stock markets began to recover the losses recorded after the market opened on Monday.