The Journal. · Wednesday, August 26, 2026
President Trump's administration cited concerns over fentanyl smuggling from Canada as the basis for imposing tariffs, claiming Canada was not doing enough to stop it. However, US Customs data suggests minimal fentanyl traffic across the Canadian border, raising questions about the true motives behind the trade dispute. This justification for tariffs was met with surprise and dismay in Canada.
“So Trump kind of reignited this trade conflict on his own accord.”
“So when Trump two, initially, what Trump did was he came in and he put these tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, supposedly for their role in fentanyl trafficking.”
“And they said that Canada wasn't doing enough to stop it. So they said, we're going to put this tariff on Canada.”
“There's not much fentanyl at all going over the border from Canada by the admission of customs here in the US.”