Canada removes some retaliatory tariffs on U.S. : NPR

Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney listens while visiting the Royal Sikanni Canadian Navy Recovery Ship in the Experimental Raves and Maritime Tests of the Canadian Forces, Nanoose Bay, British Columbia, August 4.

Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press via AP

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Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press via AP

TORONTO-Canada drops reprisal rates to equal American tariff exemptions for goods covered by the Commercial Pact of the United States-Mexico-Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Friday.

Carney said Canada will understand the sculpture that the United States has on Canadian products under the 2020 free trade agreement which protects the vast majority of goods from punishing tasks.

“Canada currently has the best trade agreement with the United States. And although it was different from what we had before, it is always better than that of any other country,” said Carney.

Carney and US President Donald Trump spoke on the phone on Thursday and Carney met his office on Friday before making this announcement.

This decision is designed to reset trade negotiations between the two countries. The USMCA was reviewed in 2026, and Carney described the Trade Pact a unique advantage for Canada at a time when it is clear that the United States has access to its market.

Carney said that USMCA’s heart engagement means that the average American rate on Canadian products remains one of its lower, and that more than 85% of Canadian-American trade continues to be exempt from prices.

Canadian and Mexican companies can request preferential treatment in the USMCA.

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initially put the reprisal rates in response to American prices, but before the American prices were applied, the Trump administration exempted the goods covered by the free trade agreement.

Most imports from Canada and Mexico are still protected by the USMCA, but the American trade secretary Howard Lutnick said: “I think the president will absolutely renegotiate the USMCA.”

The preservation of the free trade pact will be critical for Canada and Mexico. More than 75% of Canada exports go to the United States while more than 80% of Mexico exports go there.

Trump has announced certain specific rates in the sector that apply to Canada despite the USMCA – known as 232 prices – which have an impact on the Canadian economy. There is a 50% rate on steel and aluminum imports, for example.

“Canada and the United States have restored free trade for the vast majority of our goods. Canada will keep our prices on steel, aluminum and cars while we work intensively to solve the problems there,” said Carney.

Carney previously canceled Canada’s plan to tax American technological companies after Trump said he suspended trade discussions with Canada for these plans, which he called “direct and flagrant attack on our country”.

The Prime Minister challenged any idea that Canada appeared Trump, noting that Canada corresponds to what the United States does.

“The president and I had a long conversation,” said Carney. “There is an examination of the free trade agreement in the spring. We are starting our preparations.”

Lana Payne, President of Unifor, the largest union in Canada’s private sector, described Carney’s announcement to retreat Canada, and said that the country should not retreat unless the United States drops all punitive rates.

“Trump’s attacks on automotive, steel, aluminum and forestry sectors are injuring Canadian workers in real time,” she published on social networks. “Returning the counter-tariffs is not an olive branch. This only allows more of American attack.”