President Donald Trump said he’s pausing tariffs against Canada for three days, posting online just hours before the midnight deadline for the tariffs to take effect.
Part of the agreement is the revival of the Keystone XL Pipeline that would bring Alberta crude oil to Wyoming. That project had been shelved by the Joe Biden administration.
The White House also said administration officials recommended the pause because the Canadian negotiators made a commitment to remove the discriminations that led to Trump’s threat of 50% tariffs that were to have kicked in at midnight — $20 billion that included Canadian wine, honey, cement and hockey sticks among other things.
"We know that negotiations have been intensifying over the past several days following several weeks of talks in which the Canadian negotiators, as you know, have stayed in Washington," said former U.S. trade representative Kate Kalutkiewicz. "So this is edge-of-your-seat-type negotiations for sure."
Prime minister Mark Carney has avoided speaking in public about the trade talks. Twice over the past two days he held telephone conversations with Trump. Kalutkiewicz said it seems the appetite for a deal is strong in both countries.
"It’s certainly what we’ve heard," she said. "And it would make a lot of sense given what we know about this president. President Trump, like others — I’m certain the same is true for prime minister Carney — is going to make the ultimate decision here for the United States. I think it’s important to note that these types of negotiations at this level, at this intensity, to me, signal very much that both sides are committed to finding a deal."
Trump’s pause on tariffs gives negotiators more time to reach a final deal and bring some relief to businesses on both sides of the border. In a statement from his office, Carney said while substantive progress has been made, there is important work still to do.
One U.S. sources is quoted as saying the two sides are very close and it will take days, not months, to get to a final deal.
