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By Jesus Mesa
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For weeks, President Donald Trump has blamed Canada and Mexico for failing to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., vowing to impose sweeping tariffs on both neighbors as a way to induce them to do more to stop the movement of the lethal synthetic opioid that has devastated American communities for years.
"They've allowed fentanyl to come into our country at levels never seen before, killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens," Trump said during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday. He highlighted the "extraordinary threat" posed by the drug, which has contributed to more than half-a-million American overdose deaths since 2012.
On Thursday, Trump postponed the tariffs for the second time since first announcing them in early February. While Canada and Mexico have scrambled to show cooperation, the threat of economic penalties still looms. And while Trump continues to focus on foreign suppliers, analysts argue that the U.S. plays a much larger role in the fentanyl trade than it admits.
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Why It Matters
The fentanyl issue has been a central focus in the president's commitments to ramp up border security. Trump's message has emphasized that Canada and Mexico, along with China, have not done enough to prevent fentanyl production and trafficking.
Fentanyl Is Also Moving North
Although the U.S. has cast Canada as a major supplier of fentanyl, accusing Canadian enforcement agencies of failing to stop illicit opioids from crossing the border, the situation is far more nuanced.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, around 43 pounds of fentanyl were intercepted coming from Canada into the U.S. last year, whereas Canadian authorities intercepted about 11 pounds going the opposite way during the same period.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) reported six fentanyl seizures last month alone, all originating from the U.S. In one of the seizures, 56.1 grams of fentanyl were discovered by agents at the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel port of entry, including 20 fentanyl pills and 23 grams of a substance suspected to be fentanyl, all brought in by a pair U.S. citizens.
Taken together, these seizures represent a tiny fraction compared to the more than 21,000 pounds seized at the U.S.-Mexico border over the course of 2024.
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Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Newsweek that the assumption that fentanyl primarily flows from Canada into the U.S. is misleading. "There is no evidence to suggest that a significant amount of fentanyl is entering the United States from Canada," she said. "In fact, more fentanyl is currently being trafficked from the U.S. to Canada."
How Fentanyl Moves Across Borders
The synthetic opioid supply chain does not begin in Canada or Mexico. It starts, as Trump has correctly pointed out, in China, where pharmaceutical manufacturers produce the precursor chemicals that make the drug. These chemicals are then typically shipped to Mexico, where cartels like Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation manufacture it into fentanyl in clandestine labs.
Most of that fentanyl is then smuggled into the U.S. enters through legal ports of entry, hidden in cargo shipments, stuffed into vehicle compartments, or even carried by individual drug mules. The fentanyl problem is particularly vexing for U.S. authorities because of its lethality in small doses, and that it can be much easier disguised and hidden than a drug like cocaine.
Once inside the U.S., traffickers don't just distribute fentanyl domestically—they also move it north into Canada.
Canada's Crackdown on the Fentanyl Trade
Despite Canada having already taken steps to crack down on fentanyl trafficking, the drug remains deeply tied to organized crime on both sides of the border. Canadian law enforcement agencies have linked fentanyl smuggling to major outfits like the Luppino crime family in Hamilton, Ontario, whose operations span across North America.
In response to the growing threat, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Kevin Brosseau as Canada's first-ever "Fentanyl Czar" on February 11. Brosseau, a former deputy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is now in charge of overseeing national enforcement efforts and coordinating intelligence-sharing with U.S. agencies.
Canada has also launched a $1.3 billion border security initiative, following the U.S. in classifying Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. This designation grants law enforcement broader powers to freeze assets and dismantle trafficking networks operating within the country.
What People Are Saying
In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "While less than 1 percent of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, we have worked relentlessly to address this scourge that affects Canadians and Americans alike. We implemented a $1.3 billion border plan with new choppers, boots on the ground, more coordination, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl."
Vanda Felbab-Brown, fellow at the Brookings Institute, told Newsweek: "Trump is right to focus on the drug crisis. But many of the president's proposals are fraught with grave risks."
What Happens Next
President Trump postponed 25 percent tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread concerns over the economic fallout of a broader trade war. On Thursday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick emphasized that reciprocal tariffs—where the U.S. applies import taxes on countries that tax U.S. exports—will still go into effect on April 2.
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