On Sunday, Donald Trump followed through with his threat to implement a 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada, and it only took one day for Mexico to bend the knee. 

RELATED: Trump Follows Through on Holding Mexico, Canada, and China Accountable

Following a phone call between President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the latter announced a series of concessions. In her statement, she agreed to surge 10,000 Mexican National Guard soldiers to the border to combat fentanyl trafficking, with the United States agreeing to pause the tariffs for one month to ensure Sheinbaum follows through. 

Sostuvimos una buena conversación con el presidente Trump con mucho respeto a nuestra relación y la soberanía; llegamos a una serie de acuerdos:

1.México reforzará la frontera norte con 10 mil elementos de la Guardia Nacional de forma inmediata, para evitar el tráfico de drogas…

— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) February 3, 2025

Here's the English translation.

We had a good conversation with President Trump with great respect for our relationship and sovereignty; we reached a series of agreements:

1. Mexico will immediately reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, particularly fentanyl.

2. The United States is committed to working to prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico.

3. Our teams will begin working today on two fronts: security and trade.

4. They are pausing tariffs for one month from now.

I just spoke with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico. It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican Soldiers on the Border separating Mexico and the United States. These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of…

— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 3, 2025

And just like that, all the caterwauling about how expensive avocados and beer will be can cease. Yes, Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer actually claimed that "most" beer comes from Mexico, which leads me to believe he does not drink beer. 

With that said, I understand why some Republicans were also nervous about Trump's gambit. Tariffs would have raised consumer prices in the United States if left in place for a significant amount of time. There's no getting around that, and the president himself recently conceded as much, noting that the short-term pain would be worth it. That's why it's important to give other nations the ability to capitulate. There needs to be an end game when tariffs are used.

Here's the thing, though. While Trump likes to say tariffs are amazing and that they'll replace the income tax, all he's really doing is establishing leverage. He's letting other countries know that he's got no problem using the hammer if they make themselves a nail. 

Nobody applies leverage like Trump. Nobody.

I am an advocate of free trade on a principled level when it doesn't threaten key national industries and national security (which is why we should tariff China). In a vacuum, trade wars are not good or easy to win.

BUT Trump saying…

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 3, 2025

That's the difference between the Trump administration and the Biden administration. Other nations know that the former will follow through while they have no fear of taking advantage of the latter. If Mexico wants the tariffs to end permanently, they'll continue to play ball. If Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants to avoid seeing his economy thrown into a recession, he can agree to terms this afternoon when he has his reportedly scheduled call with Trump. None of this is complicated. All the American president is looking for is for our allies to do the bare minimum expected from allies.