US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday addressed several key issues, including the tariffs imposed by the United States on China and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US.
Speaking on the tariffs against China and whether US President Trump would speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Leavitt stated, “I don’t have any updates on when that call will take place,” adding that the call is being scheduled and would “happen very soon.”
She further explained the reasoning behind the tariffs, saying, “The President made it very clear with the 10 per cent tariff on China that he is not going to allow China to continue to source and distribute deadly fentanyl into our country. That was the reason for this tariff. It was a retaliatory tariff on China for the last four years of their unprecedented distribution of fentanyl to our nation’s border.”
On Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau outlined measures under “Canada’s Border Plan” aimed at curbing the fentanyl trade. He announced that the plan would involve deploying “thousands more frontline personnel to the border,” launching a precursor chemical detection unit, and establishing a new drug profiling center to combat the fentanyl trade.
Trudeau’s announcement followed a statement by US President Donald Trump a day earlier, in which he said Canada would implement a USD 1.3 billion border plan to halt the flow of fentanyl into the United States. In exchange, Trump said he would pause tariffs on Canadian goods for 30 days after the plan’s implementation.
Commenting on Netanyahu’s visit to the US, Leavitt remarked, “The fact that this is the first working visit from a foreign leader here at the White House, shows that President Trump will continue to stand strongly with Israel and he has wholeheartedly committed to ensuring all of the hostages return home and standing with our Israeli allies.”
Ahead of his US visit, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office released a statement quoting Netanyahu: “In this meeting, we’ll deal with important issues, critical issues facing Israel and our region: victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components–an axis that threatens the peace of Israel, the Middle East and the entire world.”
“The decisions we made in the war have already changed the face of the Middle East. Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redrawn the map. But I believe that working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it even further and for the better,” the statement added.
