Late Tuesday, President Donald Trump abruptly halted a 50% tariff on Canada, scheduled to take effect tomorrow, citing a deal reached with Canada and the United States. In a social media post, Trump stated, “I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three-day period, based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!”
Trump did not provide further details regarding the nature of this deal, only referencing the Keystone XL pipeline, which he described as “awoken from the grave!”
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office declined to comment on the situation, and the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee, stated that Carney and Trump spoke later that afternoon, with Carney’s office confirming the discussion was held. The deal follows over a week of intense meetings and technical discussions.
The 50% tariffs would have impacted approximately $20 billion worth of U.S. imports from Canada, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. These duties would have hit products ranging from hockey sticks to building materials, liquors, and certain clothing items. The last-minute agreement came after more than a week of furious meetings and technical talks.
The 50% duties were the first-ever use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, allowing the White House to implement tariffs up to 50% on any foreign trading partner that ‘discriminates’ against U.S. commerce. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned that without a deal, the introduction of higher tariffs would damage both economies, drive up costs for U.S. families, further disrupt critical supply chains, and risk the 13 million American jobs that depend on the North American trade pact.
The tariffs were initially proposed to be the first-ever use of Section 338, which allows the White House to impose duties up to 50% on any foreign trading partner that ‘discriminates’ against U.S. commerce. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce stated that lower duties on Canada would be a ‘a boon to U.S. consumers, producers, farmers, and manufacturers.’
A sticking point on Monday and Tuesday appeared to be a request for lower automobile duties, with U.S. officials reportedly refusing to cut current 25% tariffs on that sector to anything lower than 15%. U.S. officials did not want to cut current 25% tariffs on that sector to anything lower than 15%.
Trump did not say if the duties would be lowered.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that reasoning behind the threatened 50% duties was effectively payback for Canada’s retaliation against prior tranches of Trump’s tariffs. Greer said, “The policy basis for [Wednesday’s] duties are related to measures that Canada took against the United States.” Trump threatened 10% extra tariffs on Canada after the ad, but never followed through on that.
Trump threatened 10% extra tariffs on Canada after the ad, but never followed through on that.
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Source: NBC News
