TRUMP EXEMPTED GOODS FROM BOTH CANADA AND MEXICO – The exemption covers both of the two largest U.S. trading partners
President Donald Trump exempted goods from both Canada and Mexico under a North American trade pact for a month from the 25% tariffs that he had imposed earlier this week, the latest twist in fast-shifting trade policy that has whipsawed financial markets and business leaders.
The exemption, which will expire on April 2, covers both of the two largest U.S. trading partners. Trump had earlier only mentioned an exemption for Mexico, but the amendment he signed to his order for 25% levies on imports from both – which went into effect on Tuesday – covers Canada as well.
For Canada, the amended order also excludes duties on potash, a critical fertilizer for U.S. farmers, but does not fully cover energy products, on which Trump has imposed a separate 10% levy. A White House official said that is because not all energy products imported from Canada are covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade that Trump negotiated in his first term as president.
Trump imposed the tariffs after declaring a national emergency due to deaths from fentanyl overdoses, asserting that the deadly opioid and its precursor chemicals make their way from China to the U.S. via Canada and Mexico. Trump has also imposed tariffs of 20% on all imports from China as a result.
The exemptions will expire on April 2, when Trump has threatened to impose a global regime of reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners.
