Trump delays tariffs on some goods from Canada, Mexico for 1 month

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday temporarily waived tariffs on some, but not all, products from Canada and Mexico two days after launching a continental trade war, specifically those that fall under the North American free trade agreement.

Trump signed a new executive order giving some exemptions to Canada after originally saying Thursday that only Mexico would get a partial reprieve on sweeping tariffs until April 2.

The delay in an exemption for Canada came after Trump levelled new attacks against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following a heated exchange Wednesday.

Canada will delay its second round of retaliatory tariffs until April 2 as a result of Trump’s temporary reprieve, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced later on Thursday.

3:57 Canada doesn’t want ‘melodrama every 30 days’: Joly on temporary tariff pause

According to a new amended order signed by Trump, imports from Canada that comply with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — primarily auto components — will avoid the 25 per cent tariffs for a month.

“In order to minimize disruption to the United States automotive industry and automotive workers, it is appropriate to adjust the tariffs imposed on articles of Canada,” the amendment reads.

Potash — which U.S. farmers import from Canada for fertilizer — will be tariffed at a lower 10 per cent, the same rate at which Trump is tariffing Canadian energy products.

Imports from Mexico that comply with CUSMA will be excluded from the 25 per cent tariffs for a month, according to a separate order.

1:50 Mexico gets another tariff reprieve after president’s ‘respectful’ call with Trump

Roughly 62 per cent of imports from Canada would likely still face the new tariffs because they’re not CUSMA-compliant, according to a White House official who insisted on anonymity to preview the orders on a call with reporters, the Associated Press and Reuters reported. Half of imports from Mexico that are not CUSMA-compliant would also be taxed under the orders being signed by Trump, the official said.

Trump on Wednesday had announced a reprieve from tariffs on the Big Three automakers Stellantis, General Motors and Ford — which operate North American production lines — until April 2.

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That’s when what Trump calls “reciprocal” tariffs will take effect to seek to match all tariffs and trade measures imposed by other countries.

Trump said he was not looking to extend that exemption for autos beyond that date.

“Most of the tariffs go on April 2,” Trump said before signing the orders. “And then we have some temporary ones and small ones, relatively small, although it’s a lot of money having to do with Mexico and Canada.”

The temporary pause also does not include steel and aluminum goods, which will be placed under a separate set of tariffs scheduled to go into effect next week.

Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs threats have roiled financial markets, lowered consumer confidence, and enveloped many businesses in an uncertain atmosphere that could delay hiring and investment. But the president said that economic uncertainty was not influencing his evolving exemptions.

“I’m not even looking at the market, because long-term, the United States will be very strong with what’s happening now,” he told reporters in the Oval Office after signing the orders.

1:46 Doug Ford: Ontario will hit US with 25% tax on electricity until Trump ‘drops tariffs completely’

Canada has retaliated with an initial round of tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, while provinces have pulled American liquor from store shelves and cancelled U.S. business contracts, among other measures.

Earlier Thursday, Trudeau told reporters Canada will not lift its retaliatory tariffs until Trump lifts his tariffs entirely.

“We will not be backing down from our response tariffs until such a time as the unjustified American tariffs on Canadian goods are lifted,” he said.

The federal government was set to impose a second round of tariffs on $125 billion worth of U.S. goods in three weeks if Trump’s tariffs persist. Those will now be delayed until April 2 “while we continue to work for the removal of all tariffs,” LeBlanc said in a post on X.

In announcing the one-month pause for Mexico, Trump said he and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum were “working hard, together” on border security concerns, including fentanyl, that Trump has frequently cited for his tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

2:13 Trudeau says Canada-U.S. trade war to last for “foreseeable future” after “colourful” call with Trump

The tariffs were imposed under emergency powers given to the president during a national emergency, which Trump has declared at the borders over flows of migrants and fentanyl.

The Trump administration has accused Canada of not doing enough to address those same border security issues, despite $1.3 billion in investments from the federal government, the appointment of a fentanyl czar and data showing fentanyl seizures at the Canada-U.S. border have continued to fall from record highs last year.

Trudeau and Trump discussed the fentanyl issue during a nearly hour-long phone call Wednesday, which the prime minister described to reporters Thursday as “colourful.”

“I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Earlier, Trump accused Trudeau on social media of “using the Tariff problem, which he has largely caused, in order to run again for Prime Minister.” Trudeau is set to resign after a new Liberal leader is voted on by the party on Sunday, and he confirmed Thursday that he will not stay on as a caretaker prime minister after his successor is elected.

Provinces, meanwhile, have begun rolling out new retaliatory measures. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday his province would add a 25 per cent export tax to electricity sold to U.S. states, and British Columbia David Eby said U.S. commercial vehicles traveling through the province to Alaska will face a new toll.

1:41 ‘Pissed off’: B.C. premier delivers fiery message to Americans over Trump tariffs

“The tariffs are on, the tariffs are off, the threats, orders rescinded, put in place — it’s all a deliberate tactic to weaken our resolve,” Eby told reporters in Victoria, shortly after Trump’s exemptions for Canada were announced.

“We are going to make sure the Americans understand how pissed off we are, how unified we are, how committed we are to working as a country to stand up for each other in our own independence on our own two feet, and I say we don’t let up until the president takes the threat off the table.”

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly had equally strong words about how the constant “drama” and demands are affecting the Canada-U.S. relationship in an interview with CNN on Thursday.

“We’ve been shown too much disrespect by the Trump administration at this point: calling us the 51st state, calling our prime minister ‘governor,'” she said.

“Canadians have had enough.”

—With files from Global’s Uday Rana and Simon Little, the Associated Press and Reuters