Canada’s tariffs to remain despite Trump postponing tariffs on many imports from Canada for a month
President Donald Trump signed executive orders Thursday that delay for a month 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war.
TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s initial retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. will remain in place despite President Donald Trump postponing 25% tariffs on many imports from Canada for a month, two senior Canadian government officials said.
Trump said Thursday that he has postponed 25% tariffs on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month, amid widespread fears of a broader trade war.
Two senior Canadian governments official told the Associated Press that Canada’s first wave of response tariffs will remain. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Canada’s initial $30 billion Canadian (US$21 billion) worth of retaliatory tariffs have been applied on items like American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Canada has suspended a second wave of retaliatory tariffs after Trump signed the executive order to pause some duties. Ottawa had planned a further $125 billion (US$87 billion) in tariffs in three weeks on American products like electric vehicles, fruits and vegetables, diary, beef, pork, electronics, steel and trucks.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the leader of Canada’s most populous province, also said Thursday that, starting on Monday, the province will charge 25% more for electricity shipped to 1.5 million Americans in response to Trump’s tariff plan. Ontario provides electricity to Minnesota, New York and Michigan.
Ford said Ontario’s tariff would remain in place despite the one-month reprieve from Trump.
“The only thing that’s certain today is more uncertainty. A pause on some tariffs means nothing. Until President Trump removes the threat of tariffs for good, we will be relentless,” Ford posted on X.
Ontario and other Canadian provinces will keep American booze off shelves.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also said his province will introduce legislation in the coming days that would give it the ability to levy fees on commercial trucks traveling from the United States through the province to Alaska. He said Canadians won’t let up until the tariffs are taken off the table.
“Yet again the president is sowing uncertainty and chaos attempting to undermining our economy by implementing tariffs and then pulling them off,” Eby said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier Thursday that he expects Canada and the U.S. to be in a trade war for the foreseeable future after having what he called a colorful but constructive call with Trump on Wednesday.
A senior Canadian government official said the call became heated and Trump used profanity when Trump complained about protections in Canada’s dairy industry. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the call, said Trudeau did not use profanity.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt deferred to Trump’s comments made to reporters in the Oval office about the call.
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.
Roughly 62% of imports from Canada would likely still face the new tariffs because they’re not USMCA compliant, according to a White House official who insisted on anonymity to preview the orders on a call with reporters. Half of imports from Mexico that are not USCMA compliant would also be taxed under the orders being signed by Trump, the official said.
Trump launched a new trade war Tuesday by imposing tariffs against Washington’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin.
A day after the new tariffs took effect, Trump had said he would grant a one-month exemption for U.S. automakers. The announcement came after Trump spoke Wednesday with leaders of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler and Jeep. His press secretary said Trump told the chief executives to move auto production to the U.S. to avoid tariffs.
Despite Trump’s claim that the U.S doesn’t need Canada, nearly a quarter of the oil America consumes per day comes from Canada. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Canada suspends second wave of tariffs
Trudeau sees trade war for ‘foreseeable future’
Trump grants one-month exemption for US automakers
The short history of Trump’s tariff chaos — and more that happened this week
Domenico Montanaro
President Trump arrives for a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4.
We’ll be recapping what you need to know every Friday morning for the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Get more updates and analysis in the NPR Politics newsletter.
After drops in the stock market, outcry from the Big Three automakers in the U.S. and a conversation with Mexico’s president, President Trump again reversed himself and is delaying tariffs against Mexico and Canada.
It was just the latest chapter in a chaotic rollout of one of Trump’s favorite economic tools, one that economists broadly say will lead to higher prices. Many tariffs on lots of goods are still in place, and the delay on the rest only extends until April 2, leaving companies and consumers unsure of what to expect, sometimes hour to hour.
“It may be a little bit of an adjustment period,” Trump said in his address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday, acknowledging economic repercussions that could result from tariffs, and he asked Americans, farmers in particular, to “bear with me.”
Here’s a look at just some of Trump’s back-and-forth on tariffs since taking office, leading up to this week:
Jan. 20: On the day of Trump’s inauguration, he promises tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China will be implemented Feb. 1.
Feb. 1: Trump signs executive order to implement tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, set to start on Feb. 4. Canada announces retaliatory 25% tariffs.
Feb. 3: Trump delays tariffs on Canada and Mexico by a month. He says Mexico will send 10,000 troops to the U.S. border in order to curb migration, and he was trying to work out an economic structure with Canada.
Feb. 4: 10% tariffs are, in fact, put in place against China with China issuing retaliatory tariffs. The Postal Service puts a ban on packages from Hong Kong and China.
Feb. 5: The Postal Service reverses course and lifts the ban it put in place on Chinese packages because of the potential to create massive disruptions for online retailers and U.S. shoppers.
Feb. 10: Trump says he will impose 25% tariffs on steel imports from all countries, and he raises aluminum tariffs from 10% to 25%.
Feb. 13: Trump signs a memorandum that sets the stage for “reciprocal tariffs” to go into effect across the board on April 2.
Feb. 26: Trump says at Cabinet meeting he might give Canada and Mexico a one-month reprieve on tariffs until April 2.
Feb. 27: Trump reverses course and says they will go into effect March 4.
A line of trucks traveling into Canada are pictured at the Pacific Highway U.S.-Canadian border crossing in Blaine, Wash., on March 5.
March 1: Trump signs executive order to increase U.S. lumber production and orders probe into potential lumber import tariffs. The U.S. imports billions of dollars in lumber products from Canada.
March 2: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says tariffs on Canada and Mexico remain a “fluid situation” and that they could be less than 25%.
March 3: Lutnick again says it’s possible the tariffs don’t go into effect, but Trump later confirms they will.
March 4: Trump levies 25% tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China. China hits the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs, including on some agricultural imports, including chicken, pork, soy and beef. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau blasts Trump for cozying up to Russian President Putin and imposing tariffs against allies. He threatens to hit the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs; Mocking Trudeau as “governor,” Trump says he will hit back if that happens. The stock market tumbles in response. Lutnick says some of the tariffs could be rolled back as soon as the next day.
March 5: Trump delays tariffs related to autos until April 2.
March 6: Trump delays tariffs on Mexican goods. Later, he does the same for Canadian goods. The reprieve expires April 2.
Lots more happened this week — from Trump’s address to Congress, the suspension of aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, more firings at agencies, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talking up vitamins instead of vaccines to combat measles, and more.
The pace has been frenetic these first six weeks, but Trump made clear on Tuesday that it’s just the beginning.
“We are just getting started,” Trump said during his joint address, in which he focused heavily on the culture war issues that have made him popular with his MAGA base.
Here’s a day-by-day look at what happened since last Friday in a continuing effort to chronicle the major events and actions during the first 100 days the Trump administration:
The U.S. Department of Education headquarters is seen on March 6, in Washington, DC.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during her daily press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on March 6.
A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to the General Services Administration as the Government Services Administration.
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