Trump’s Destructive, Haphazard Trade War Is an Extension of His Petty Foreign Policy

(GDA via AP Images)

President Donald Trump insists that the trade war he’s waging against the United States’ nearest two neighbors is largely about stemming the flow of drugs into his country and saving the lives of his countrymen.

“Vast amounts of fentanyl have poured into our country from, from Mexico and, as you know, also from China, where it goes to Mexico, and goes to Canada, and China also had an additional ten, so it’s ten plus ten,” explained Trump at a Monday press conference in which he declared that there was “no room left” for negotiation. “And and it comes in from Canada and it comes in from Mexico. And that’s a very important thing to say.”

Well, maybe not then. The promised 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian exports into the U.S. did go into effect on Tuesday — look no further than the stock market’s freefall for evidence — but by Thursday, Trump had announced a partial change of heart.

“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement. This Agreement is until April 2nd,” wrote Trump on Truth Social. “I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl. Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!”

And what of the Canadians, Mr. President?

“Believe it or not, despite the terrible job he’s done for Canada, I think that Justin Trudeau is using the Tariff problem, which he has largely caused, in order to run again for Prime Minister,” he theorized. “So much fun to watch!”

Fun fact: Authorities seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the U.S.’s northern border last year.

At the southern border, they seized over 21,148 pounds.

In other words: Over 491 times as much fentanyl was discovered coming from Mexico as was coming from Canada.

In still others: Just .2% of fentanyl seizures made at America’s borders were coming from Canada.

Are we sure this is about the fentanyl crisis?

Sheinbaum appears to have Trump’s number. While Trudeau doubtlessly sealed his fate by railing against the president on Tuesday during a news conference in which he accused Trump of “appeasing Vladimir Putin: a lying murderous dictator” while launching a “very dumb” trade, Sheinbaum’s more patient, flattery-heavy approach is paying dividends.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

Trump is conducting foreign policy based on his own personal grudges, preferences, and whims — not the national interest.

How else to explain his decision to let Mexico off the hook while giving Canada no quarter?

Or, more consequentially still, his parroting of Russian propaganda and constant undermining of the Ukrainian cause?

Volodymyr Zelensky doesn’t suck up to Trump as skillfully as the aforementioned Putin; so it is he who must endure a steady stream of slanderous invective, all of which could better describe the Russian dictator. One must feel for him, and to a far lesser extent, Trudeau. But it is the American people who stand to be the ultimate losers in this arrangement. During Trump’s first term, cooler, more civically-minded heads within his administration largely succeeded in steering his foreign policy in the right direction.

No such heads constrain him now, so his constituents will just have to hope his impulses align with their interests more often than not.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.