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**Hugh** · 04-02-2025, 20:59

Fairly even-handed WP article on the negotiations

https://wapo.st/4aJ1pUw

Quote:

The particulars of the Canada deal are thus, as relayed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump, who quoted Trudeau’s version of events on social media:
Canada will implement a $1.3 billion border plan that includes helicopters, technology, personnel and “enhanced coordination with our American partners.”

Trudeau also said 10,000 personnel “are and will be working on protecting the border.”

It will launch a “joint strike force” with the United States to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.

It will appoint a fentanyl czar.

It will list drug cartels as terrorist organizations.

It will spend $200 million on a new “intelligence directive” on fentanyl and organized crime.

It will “ensure 24/7 eyes on the border.”

The first thing to note is that the first two aren’t really new. Canada had already announced the $1.3 billion border plan in December. Part of that plan was proposing the joint strike force.

Canada also said in December that it already had 8,500 personnel on the border. (Which appears to be why Trudeau said these people “are and will be” on the border — the vast majority are already there.)

It’s clear that both moves were done with potential future tariffs in mind; Trump has been threatening them, and Canada has been fearing them for many months. But these things were clearly already on the table when Trump made his specific threat.

That means the actually new things that came after Trump’s threat, apparently, are the fentanyl czar, labeling cartels terrorists, the $200 million and 24/7 eyes on the border.

Most of these are geared toward fentanyl. But it’s worth emphasizing that the flow of fentanyl from Canada is a tiny percentage of the drug that’s seized at U.S. borders — about 0.2 percent. Border authorities seized about 43 pounds in 2024, compared with more than 21,000 pounds from the Mexican border. And data shows that the vast majority of fentanyl seized from Canada — about 80 percent — was brought by U.S. citizens.