Tuesday will still see U.S. tariffs on Canada, however they might not be 25%: The Lutnick

The commerce secretary for U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico will still be implemented on Tuesday, but he seemed to imply that the initial 25% plan might be modified.

In an appearance with Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Howard Lutnick stated that tariffs on Canada and Mexico will begin on the previously scheduled date of March 4; however, Trump would decide the exact amount.

“On Tuesday,tariffs will be imposed on Canada and Mexico,” he stated.”We’re going to let the president and his team negotiate exactly what they are.”

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Three days before to the secretary’s remarks,the president said that his threatened 25% tariffs on both nations will proceed as planned.

Trump reaffirmed his assertion that these tariffs were connected to the influx of migrants and fentanyl entering the United States from both nations in a message published on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau emphasized “significant reductions in even the small amount of fentanyl” that enters the border as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to avoid tariffs.

“To guarantee that there are no tariffs on Tuesday, we will keep working and do everything in our power,”Trudeau said to reporters.However,as we have all seen and were prepared to do the last time, if tariffs are imposed on Tuesday,we will respond with the force,clarity,and proportionality that Canadians have come to expect.

But Lutnick told Maria Bartiromo of Fox News that Mexico and Canada had done a”reasonable job on the border.”

“The border is the focus of March 4th, and both Canada and Mexico have done a respectable job on it.They’re both working hard on it,”Lutnick stated. Nevertheless,fentanyl still enters this nation and kills our citizens,”

“They’ve accomplished a lot, so he’s currently considering how he wants to play it with Canada and Mexico,which is a flexible situation.”

Less than 1% of fentanyl entering the United States originates in Canada,according to federal data from Canada.

Less than 14 grams of fentanyl were confiscated at the Canada-U.S. border in January, the lowest amount since 2023, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection department. During the previous fiscal year, more than 19 kg of Canadian fentanyl were seized.

In a readout of Trump’s discussion with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this weekend, the White House emphasized that fentanyl seizures at the border have decreased 90 percent in the previous month, according to Trudeau and cabinet officials.

However, Trump said that Canada hasn’t made any headway in combating fentanyl “at all” at a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday in the Oval Office.

But Tuesday’s tariffs won’t only apply to Canada and Mexico. It is anticipated that Trump will increase tariffs on China from 10% to 20%. According to Lutnick,unless China stops fentanyl trafficking into the United States,that figure is established.

Lutnick’s remarks were made the day after Trump gave him instructions to look into the possibility of imposing duties on Canadian timber shipments into the United States.That action would be in addition to the taxes already imposed on softwood lumber from Canada and the tariffs that will be imposed on Tuesday.