Trump Announces US-Canada Trade Deal, Says Tariffs on Canadian Goods Could Ease

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington and Ottawa have reached a trade agreement following a phone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, although he acknowledged that the deal still requires final documents to be completed.

“We had a very good conversation with the prime minister last night, and we’ve come to a deal with Canada,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.

Trump said the agreement would eliminate tariffs on US agricultural exports to Canada, calling it “a very good deal for both” countries.

“Our farmers were paying tremendous tariffs into Canada, and those tariffs are going to be totally eviscerated down to zero,” he said.

Asked whether the United States would also lower tariffs on Canadian automobiles and luxury goods, Trump said Washington was prepared to make concessions.

“We’re doing certain things. We’re giving, going to give something,” he said, arguing that US farmers and manufacturers would benefit from the agreement.

Trump had announced a temporary three-day pause to a planned 50% tariff on Canadian goods, which was due to take effect Wednesday. The delay was intended to provide additional time to finalize the agreement.

The move followed a Tuesday phone call with Carney, who had been seeking an agreement to prevent the tariffs from being imposed on roughly C$30 billion [$22 billion] worth of Canadian goods.

Trump also indicated that Washington could consider reducing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

“We’ll look at it,” he said.

The US president again criticized Canada’s previous tariffs on American agricultural products, saying US farmers had been “hurt very badly.”

He also suggested that some Canadian goods could eventually face tariff rates comparable to those imposed on other countries.

“Canada was paying a higher tariff,” Trump said.

“We have a very nice relationship with leadership right now, and we’ll see. But we did a three-day pause,” he added.

The proposed agreement now depends on the completion and formalization of the remaining documents before its terms can be fully implemented.