Trump suspends 50% tariffs on Canada for three days

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the temporary suspension of the new 50% tariffs on Canadian products, after Washington and Ottawa reached a last-minute agreement. The new tariffs had been due to take effect within hours, before the White House announced the postponement linked to negotiations still underway between the two delegations.

"I have suspended the 50% Tariffs against Canada for a period of three days as Canada and the United States, pending finalization of documents, have reached an agreement," Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social.

The additional tariffs had been announced in mid-July and would have affected Canadian imports worth the equivalent of twenty billion dollars. The list of affected products ranged from cement to ice hockey sticks to beer.

According to the White House, the measure was a response to what it considered discriminatory treatment of American products by Canada and most of its provinces, against a backdrop of persistent trade tensions between the two countries.

A fraction of bilateral trade

This is not the first round of additional tariffs imposed by Washington against Ottawa in recent months. The share of goods affected by the new measure still represents only a minimal fraction of the 383 billion dollars in Canadian exports to the United States recorded each year.

The suspension granted by Trump covers a limited window of three days, while the two sides complete the formal drafting of the announced agreement. It remains to be seen what final terms will be set once the negotiations conclude, and whether the truce will be enough to durably avert new tariffs on the sectors involved.

For Canadian businesses exposed to the US market, the episode confirms in any case how much Washington's trade policy remains subject to rapid decisions and tight deadlines, with direct consequences for investment and cost planning.