Ottawa, March 7 (IANS) Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc has said that Canada will halt the second wave of tariffs on US goods until April 2.
“The United States has agreed to suspend tariffs on CUSMA (Canada-US-Mexico Agreement)-compliant exports from Canada until April 2,” LeBlanc said on Thursday in his social media account shortly after US President Donald Trump announced the tariff delay.
“As a result, Canada will not proceed with the second wave of tariffs on 125 billion Canadian dollars of US products until April 2, while we continue to work for the removal of all tariffs.”
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Canada’s retaliatory measures remain, even after Trump’s latest move to delay tariffs on some Canadian and Mexican goods until April 2, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to local media, more than half of Canadian imports aren’t covered and would likely still face the new tariffs because they’re not USMCA compliant.
“As long as the threat remains, the pressure stays on,” Champagne was quoted as saying in CTV News.
“The Prime Minister has been clear on that. The only way you make that work is to keep the pressure.”
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order to delay tariffs on goods covered under the CUSMA.
The first phase of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs, covering $30 billion worth of US goods, took effect on Tuesday in response to Trump’s 25 per cent levies on most Canadian imports.
Ottawa had originally planned to impose further tariffs on US products, including electric vehicles, agricultural goods, electronics, steel, and trucks, by late March. However, following Trump’s decision to scale back tariffs, Canada has pushed this measure to April 2.
Trump announced on Thursday that he is postponing 25 per cent tariffs on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month, easing concerns about a broader trade war.
However, a White House official confirmed that the suspension is not retroactive, meaning tariffs already paid on imports from Tuesday to Thursday will not be refunded.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said that Ottawa will remain in a trade war with Washington “for the foreseeable future” despite exemptions for certain sectors.
In response to Trump’s decision, Canada is delaying its second phase of retaliatory tariffs against the US. The suspension of duties will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time (10:31 a.m. Indian Standard Time (IST))on Friday.
According to orders signed by Trump, imports from Mexico that comply with the 2020 USMCA trade agreement will be exempt from the 25 per cent tariffs for a month. Similarly, auto-related imports from Canada that meet USMCA requirements will also avoid the tariffs for the same period. However, Canadian potash imported by US farmers will be subject to a 10 per cent tariff, the same rate Trump plans to impose on Canadian energy products.
A White House official, speaking anonymously, said that about 62 per cent of imports from Canada are likely to face the new tariffs as they do not comply with USMCA. Additionally, half of Mexico’s non-compliant imports will also be taxed under Trump’s orders.
–IANS
int/khz