..as it waves olive branch to Trump
Prime Minister Mark Carney is scrapping Canada’s punishing tariffs on billions of dollars worth of American products in hopes of making trade peace with the Trump administration.
Carney will announce the sweeping policy shift Friday after a cabinet meeting, removing 25% tariffs on a vast range of US consumer goods that comply with the North American trade agreement, Bloomberg News reported.
The move represents a stunning about-face for Canada, which had been one of the few countries to aggressively punch back against President Donald Trump’s protectionist agenda.
The tariff rollback will spare American-made products like orange juice, wine, clothing and motorcycles from the steep import taxes that have been in place since March.
The relief applies to roughly $21.7 billion worth of US goods, sources in the know told Bloomberg News.
But Carney isn’t completely backing down. Canada will maintain its 25% tariffs on US steel, aluminum and automobiles — sectors where Trump has imposed his own punitive levies.
The dramatic policy reversal comes just one day after Carney and Trump spoke by phone, marking their first publicly acknowledged conversation in weeks.
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Sources say the move is designed to ease tensions with the White House while positioning Canada for the upcoming review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement expected to begin in coming months.
The shift marks a sharp departure from the combative approach Carney championed during his successful election campaign, when he promised to inflict “maximum pain” on the US through aggressive retaliation.
That tough-guy rhetoric helped propel Carney to victory over former Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Party leader, in the recent election.
Trudeau’s government first imposed the retaliatory measures in March, targeting about $21.6 billion in US shipments. A second wave followed Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, hitting US metals products and consumer goods worth another $21.6 billion annually.
Carney escalated the trade war further during his campaign, slapping tariffs on US-manufactured vehicles in response to Trump’s automotive levies.
New York Post
