U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will temporarily waive tariffs on products from Mexico that fall under the North American free trade agreement, two days after launching a continental trade war.
The announcement did not mention Canada, which is also facing sweeping tariffs, despite Trump’s commerce secretary saying earlier that both countries would “likely” see a reprieve. It came shortly after Trump levelled new attacks against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following a heated exchange Wednesday.
“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement,” Trump wrote on Truth Social following a scheduled call between the two leaders.
“This Agreement is until April 2nd. I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum.”
The post cited the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that Trump negotiated with the two countries during his first term in 2018, which is referred to as CUSMA in Canada.
Most products traded between Mexico, Canada and the U.S. fall under CUSMA rules.
Sheinbaum thanked Trump for his announcement in a post on X.
“We had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results, within the framework of respect for our sovereignties,” Sheinbaum said.
Trump said he and Sheinbaum were “working hard, together” on border security concerns, including fentanyl, that Trump has frequently cited for the 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada that came into effect on Tuesday, along with 10 per cent levies on Canadian energy.
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.”
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“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.
Thursday marked the second time this week that Trump has announced an exemption to the Canada and Mexico tariffs.
On Wednesday, the White House said tariffs would be paused on the Big Three automakers Stellantis, General Motors and Ford — which operate North American production lines — until April 2.
That’s when what Trump calls “reciprocal” tariffs will take effect to seek to match all tariffs and trade measures imposed by other countries.
The White House said Trump was “open” to additional exemptions, including on North American agricultural products.
Before Trump’s announcement Thursday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that tariffs on both Canada and Mexico would “likely” be delayed, adding “it’s likely that it will cover all USMCA-compliant goods and services.”
“If you lived under Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, you will get a reprieve from these tariffs now. If you chose to go outside of that, you did so at your own risk, and today is when that reckoning comes,” he said.
Trudeau called Lutnick’s comments “promising” in his remarks to reporters in Ottawa.
“That aligns with some of the conversations that we have been having with administration officials, but I’m going to wait for an official agreement to talk about Canadian response and look at the details of it,” Trudeau said.
“It is a promising sign. But I will highlight that it means that the tariffs remain in place, and therefore our response will remain in place.”
But Trump did not mention Canada in his announcement.
Hours earlier, he accused Trudeau 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.
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.
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.
—With files from Reuters and the Associated Press
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