Canadian and Mexican officials will meet separately with U.S. trade officials to try to get ahead of the tariffs.
Canada and Mexico sought Friday to show the U.S. government evidence of progress in stemming the flow of fentanyl opioids ahead of a March 4 deadline for imposing 25% tariffs on their imported goods.
Canadian and Mexican officials are scheduled to meet separately with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and other senior Trump administration officials to try to preempt tariffs.
Trump on Thursday reaffirmed a Tuesday deadline for imposing tariffs on more than $900 billion of annual imports from Canada and Mexico and said he would double his 10% tariff on Chinese goods by that date, citing insufficient progress in reducing fentanyl overdose deaths in the United States.
Mexico on Thursday carried out its largest mass extradition of suspected drug cartel members in 10 years, including Rafel Caro Quintero, a kingpin who spent decades in prison for the murder of a U.S. anti-drug agent and 28 other suspects.
Caro Quintero, 72, was due to appear in federal court on Friday on drug trafficking charges in the United States. Among the suspects extradited were younger leaders accused of smuggling fentanyl into the United States.
Mexican Undersecretary of Economy Vidal Llerenas said Thursday that Mexico could adopt other trade measures, in addition to the recent tariffs it imposed on certain imports, to reduce low-value shipments from China.
Earlier this month, Washington suspended the "de minimis" exemption for packages valued under $800, which has allowed fentanyl and its precursor chemicals to reach U.S. airports and border crossings without inspection.
But as the packages piled up, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency halted the suspension until it could put effective enforcement measures in place.
"There are ongoing discussions with the Chinese, Mexico and Canada," a White House official told Reuters on Thursday. "We've gotten a good handle on the immigration issue, but there are still concerns about the other issue of fentanyl deaths."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 72,776 people will have died from synthetic opioids in the United States in 2023, mostly from fentanyl.
