Canadian, Mexican and American industries react as tariffs take effect
North Americans in the auto, agriculture and toy industries shared their reactions to new tariffs.
WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump on Thursday said Mexico won’t be required to pay tariffs on any goods that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade for the next month, but he did not say whether the same move will apply to imports from Canada.
Trump, in a post on social media, said he agreed to the one-month extension after speaking with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. The U.S. president said the agreement is until April 2, when reciprocal tariffs on goods from all nations that place fees on U.S. exports is set to go into effect.
“I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl,” Trump said in a statement.
The backpedaling comes after Trump on Wednesday agreed to exempt automobiles from newly imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico for the next month at the request of the three largest U.S. automakers. The steep tariffs on two of the U.S.’s biggest trade partners ignited a trade war and sent the stock market tumbling while stoking anxiety for consumers about higher costs.
Trump sharpens attacks on Canada’s Trudeau
Earlier Thursday, Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, signaled in an interview on CNBC that a one-month reprieve would be extended to all products that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, which would include Canadian imports.
Trump’s social media post made no mention of Canada, however, and Trump has escalated his attacks against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who he has repeatedly needled by referring to him as “governor of Canada.”
“Believe it or not, despite the terrible job he’s done for Canada, I think that Justin Trudeau is using the Tariff problem, which he has largely caused, in order to run again for Prime Minister,” Trump said in a post Thursday on Truth Social. “So much fun to watch!”
Trudeau responded to the new tariffs Tuesday by announcing retaliatory 25% Canadian tariffs on American goods. He called Trump’s tariffs “a very dumb thing to do” in defiant remarks. “Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight,” Trudeau said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in remarks Thursday at The Economic Club of New York, said Trump is open to negotiating tariffs but not “if you want to be a numbskull like Justin Trudeau and say, ‘Oh, we’re going to do this.'”
Contributing: Reuters. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
