Trump delays some Canada and Mexico tariffs in latest twist
US exemptions, which will expire on April 2, applies to goods covered by a North American trade agreement
US President Donald Trump suspended on Thursday the 25 per cent tariffs he imposed this week on most goods from Canada and Mexico, the latest twist in a fluctuating trade policy that has whipsawed financial markets and fanned worries over inflation and a growth slowdown.
The exemptions, covering the two largest US trading partners, expire on April 2 when Trump has threatened to impose a global regime of reciprocal tariffs on all US trading partners.
Trump had imposed a 25 per cent levy on imports from both countries on Tuesday and had mentioned an exemption only for Mexico earlier on Thursday, but the amendment he signed on Thursday afternoon covered Canada as well. The three countries are partners in a North American trade pact.
In response, Canada would delay a planned second wave of retaliatory tariffs on C$125 billion (US$87.4 billion) of US products until April 2, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a post on X.
For Canada, the amended White House order also excludes duties on potash, a critical fertiliser for US farmers, but does not fully cover energy products, on which Trump has imposed a separate 10 per cent levy. A White House official said that is because not all energy products imported from Canada are covered under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade that Trump negotiated in his first term as president.