TRENTON, Canada

The White House used 43 pounds of fentanyl crossing into the US at its northern border to justify tariffs on Canadian imports, but the drugs came from within the US, media reports said Wednesday.

The 43-pound total represented a “massive 2,205 increase” the White House said in comparison to the previous year’s total of two pounds, the Globe and Mail Newspaper reported.

But according to the US border agency, about one-third of the total, 15 pounds, was actually seized in July in Spokane, Washington, not entering the US from Canada, court records show. The seizure was a result of an investigation last summer that led to the arrest of three Mexicans, the Globe and Mail reported.

That undermines the White House assertion of a hefty increase in the drug from Canada and justification for a 25% tariff on Canadian imports to the US if Ottawa did not take action to cut the fentanyl flow.

Investigators concluded that a car used by the alleged fentanyl traffickers arrived in Spokane from Phoenix, Arizona, three weeks before the seizure, according to court documents.

References to Canada were not found in court records or in an affidavit sworn by a US border agent.

A Customs and Board Protection Agency told the Globe and Mail that drugs seized near the US-Canadian border can be considered intercepted at the border. That implies the drugs came from Canada.

“We seized those items – that fentanyl – and we don’t necessarily have any information that proves it is or isn’t from Canada, or has a nexus (connection) to Canada,” Steven Bansbach said.

The White House did not respond to the Globe and Mail’s request for comment.​​​​​​​