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, but he did not say whether the same move will apply to imports from Canada.
Trump, in a post on social media, said he spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and agreed “that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement.” 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 move 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.
Earlier Thursday, Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, signalled 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.
Contributing: Reuters. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
