Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he is "hopeful" President Donald Trump's planned tariffs on Mexico and Canada won't take effect.
In a Truth Social post Thursday, Trump said illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at "unacceptable levels" and that import taxes would force other countries to crack down on the trafficking.
Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said no state "has paid the price more for the invasion over the last four years than Texas."
"That being said, trade with Mexico and Canada is enormously important to the Texas economy, and so I'm hopeful we will not see the tariffs go into effect — because Mexico and Canada will be actively assisting in securing the border," he said.
Trump intends to put 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tax on Canadian energy products such as oil and electricity. The move, ostensibly about drug trafficking and immigration, led Mexico and Canada to respond by emphasizing their existing efforts to address these issues. Canada created a fentanyl czar, and Mexico sent 10,000 members of its National Guard to its border with the U.S.
Cruz said Trump "uses tariffs for multiple purposes, one of them is as an incentive to cause other nations to work with the United States and advance our interests. ... With Mexico and Canada, the president has explicitly conditioned those tariffs on those two nations actively assisting and securing the border. That is incredibly important."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.