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Threatened US tariffs on Canada, Mexico suspended for a month as talks with China loom
Mexican president agrees to send 10,000 troops to border to stop drugs and US commits to halt trafficking of weapons to Mexico
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A full-scale North American trade war was averted, temporarily, on Monday.
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Hours after Mexico announced that US President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on its exports would be delayed for a month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the new trade levies on his country had also been temporarily suspended following a phone call with the US leader.
As was the case with Mexico, the 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods, set to take effect on Tuesday, will instead be paused for 30 days.
The agreement was reached after Canada pledged to implement a C$1.3 billion (US$900 million) border plan that Trudeau said amounted to “reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl”.
Attention will now shift to negotiations with China, which is facing 10 per cent tariffs on top of those already implemented when Trump started a trade war with Beijing in 2018. Trump said earlier on Monday he “will be speaking to China, probably over the next 24 hours”.
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US pauses tariffs on Canada and Mexico
US pauses tariffs on Canada and Mexico
Describing his conversation with Trump as a “good call,” Trudeau added that “nearly 10,000 frontline personnel are and will be working on protecting the border.”
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