US suspends tariffs on most Mexican, some Canadian goods until April
The United States has suspended tariffs on most goods coming into the US from Mexico and some goods from Canada until April 2, President Donald Trump has announced.
The suspension of tariffs applies to all goods under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), negotiated by Trump during his first term as president.
The announcement came after Trump spoke on the telephone with his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum. "I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum," Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
"Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl," Trump added. "Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!"
Sheinbaum thanked Trump for an "excellent and respectful conversation." She said they agreed that cooperation, with respect for sovereignty, has led to good results.
"We will continue our collaboration, particularly on issues of migration and security, including the containment of the illegal import of fentanyl into the United States and weapons into Mexico," Sheinbaum wrote on the messaging platform X.
Back and forth on tariffs in North America
Tariffs on goods imported into the US from Canada and Mexico came into effect on Tuesday. Trump justified these punitive duties of 25% by saying that the two countries were not doing enough to combat cross-border drug trafficking.
Canada had responded with retaliatory tariffs of the same rate. Mexico also announced countermeasures, although the exact details were initially left unspecified.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order stating auto-related imports from Canada that complied with the USMCA would avoid the 25% tariffs for a month. Potash that US farmers import from Canada would be tariffed at 10%, the same as energy resources from Canada.
It was unclear if Canada would suspend retaliatory tariffs on US goods.
Earlier in the day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he did not foresee a quick end to the trade conflict with the Trump administration, despite positive signals from Washington.
Trudeau said in Ottawa that the tariff dispute would continue "for the foreseeable future."
He described a phone call with Trump as "colourful," noting moments of tension during their discussion on resolving the dispute.
At the beginning of February, a North American trade war was initially averted at short notice. Trump agreed to concessions, mainly concerning border security, just a few hours before the threatened tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico were originally due to take effect. In exchange, he postponed the trade restrictions for 30 days - but after the deadline earlier this week, he went ahead with the tariffs.
Other trade conflicts continue
Trump frequently uses tariff threats as a negotiation tactic to force concessions in other areas. This was already the case in his first term from 2017 to 2021.
Since taking office in January, he has not only initiated trade disputes with Canada and Mexico, he also imposed new tariffs on imports from China - initially at 10%, then doubled to 20% in a second step.
Europeans are also likely to face tariffs from Trump. The US president has already issued such a threat several times, though without specifying details.
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