Trump Pauses 50% Canada Tariffs After Last-Minute Deal
The U.S. and Canada reached a tentative agreement just before steep tariffs on Canadian imports were set to take effect.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is pausing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports after the two countries reached a last-minute deal less than two hours before the levies were to take effect.
Trump announced the three-day pause on Truth Social: "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!"
Had the tariffs taken effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday as scheduled, they would have hit Canadian products ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors. Canada had threatened retaliatory levies of its own.
A White House proclamation said Canada had expressed commitment to remove measures the administration considers discriminatory against U.S. alcohol, dairy and motor vehicle exports. Canada did not immediately confirm those commitments.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that "substantial progress" had been made but that important work remained, confirming Canada agreed to the three-day delay while talks continue. Carney and Trump spoke twice by phone in the past two days, including a call Tuesday afternoon, Carney's office said.
Nearly 72% of Canada's goods exports last year went to the United States, and the two countries traded $880 billion in goods and services. The Trump administration also faced political risk in imposing new tariffs — often passed on to consumers through higher prices — ahead of November's midterm elections.
Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said the pause offers businesses some relief but falls short of the certainty a signed agreement would provide. "This limbo state is not anyone's preferred outcome," she said.
Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a Depression-era law never before used, to threaten the tariffs. The U.S. is also renegotiating the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and the tariff threat gives Washington leverage in those talks.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
