On Thursday, President Trump signed a tariff exemption on imports from Canada and Mexico, which are covered by the 2020 North American trade agreement, marking the latest reversal of obligations imposed earlier this week.
Under the order, products complying with the US Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA) will not be subject to customs duties until April 2nd. At this point, Trump is committed to impose mutual tariffs on other countries with US import obligations.
Additionally, one of the orders stipulates that tariffs on Canadian potassium, a key ingredient in fertilizer, will fall from 25% to 10%.
The move comes hours after Trump said he was exempt from Mexican imports covered by the USMCA, and a day after he said that car imports contained within the USMCA are not subject to customs duties. The exemption also applies to automatic parts used in vehicle assembly.
“USMCA compliant products will not have any duties until next month, April 2nd. This includes cars and the cars were leading the way in which they could do this, but Canada and Mexico have provided more work to prove they would reduce the death of fentanyl.”
“On April 2nd, we will be moving to mutual tariffs, and we hope Mexico and Canada will do a good job with fentanyl and this part of the conversation will be off the table.
White House officials have shown that many imports will be subject to tariffs during that time. Authorities said about 62% of imports from Canada are not subject to USMCA and are subject to tariffs, but 50% of imports from Mexico are not subject to USMCA.
Trump on Tuesday imposed a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods. He cited his complaints about fentanyl's flow to the US, but experts point out that there is relatively little in the country across the north border compared to the south border.
White House officials argue that Trump's tariffs should not be seen through the lens of a trade war, but through the lens of a war with fentanyl, which kills thousands of Americans every year.
Still, the White House's unpredictable approach to tariffs rattles financial markets with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500. Understand the lossAt the beginning of the week.
Trump has promised that more tariffs will fall on Pike. He has pledged to begin leviing mutual tariffs on other countries that are liable for US imports in early April, as well as to impose sector-specific tariffs in the coming weeks on auto imports, semiconductors, medicines and other materials. Some business leaders warn that tariffs are likely to raise prices on products.
