The following is a report from The Associated Press.
President Donald Trump on Thursday postponed 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war.
The White House insists its tariffs are about stopping the smuggling of fentanyl, but the taxes proposed by Trump have caused a gaping wound in the decades-old North American trade partnership, and Canada has felt compelled to quickly take aggressive countermeasures. Trump’s tariff plans have also caused the stock market to sink and alarmed U.S. consumers.
In addition to his claims about fentanyl, Trump has insisted that the tariffs could be resolved by fixing the trade deficit and he emphasized while speaking in the Oval Office that he still plans to impose “reciprocal” tariffs starting on April 2.
“Most of the tariffs go on April the second,” Trump said before signing the orders. “And then we have some temporary ones and small ones, relatively small, although it’s a lot of money having to do with Mexico and Canada.”
Trump said he was not looking to extend the exemption on the 25% tariff for autos for another month.
Imports from Mexico that comply with the 2020 USMCA trade pact would be excluded from the 25% tariffs for a month, according to the orders signed by Trump. Imports from Canada that comply with the trade deal would also avoid the 25% tariffs for a month, while the potash that U.S. farmers import from Canada would be tariffed at 10%, the same rate at which Trump wants to tariff Canadian energy products.
Click here to read the full report by Christopher Rugaber and Josh Boak at The Associated Press.
