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WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. President Donald Trump partially reversed course Wednesday on his global trade war following days of market turmoil \u2014 but he\u2019s not offering any changes to the tariffs hitting Canada.<\/p>\n
Trump announced an immediate 90-day pause on the levies on nations slapped with the highest duties under his \u201creciprocal\u201d tariff regime. A White House official later clarified that a 10-per-cent baseline tariff will remain in place for all countries.<\/p>\n
The president has held fast to his plan to rapidly realign global trade through a benchmark \u201creciprocal\u201d tariff since his return to the White House in January, but his tariffs have spread chaos throughout global markets.<\/p>\n
The 10-per-cent baseline tariffs on all imports to the U.S. from most countries, and higher duties on dozens of nations, came into force just after midnight Wednesday. Those higher tariffs included a 20 per cent levy on imports from the European Union, a 25 per cent tariff on South Korea and a 32 per cent levy on Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Trump also increased tariffs on Chinese goods to 104 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beijing responded with additional duties on U.S. imports, pushing its total tariffs on U.S. goods to 84 per cent.<\/p>\n
Trump posted on social media that Americans should \u201cBE COOL!\u201d and \u201cEverything is going to work out\u201d a few hours before changing course and pulling back some of the most devastating duties.<\/p>\n
On social media, Trump said he made the decision after more than 75 countries called his administration \u201cto negotiate a solution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later at the White House, the president said he lowered the levies because \u201cpeople were jumping a little bit out of line.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were getting yippy, you know,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
While some countries saw a reprieve, Trump posted that China had shown a \u201clack of respect\u201d and announced he\u2019s increasing tariffs on Chinese imports to 125 per cent, effective immediately.<\/p>\n
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spread his own confusion by telling reporters that Canada and Mexico were included in the 10-per-cent universal levy. The White House official later stated that the tariffs on Canada remained unchanged.<\/p>\n
In early March, Trump imposed \u2014 and then partially paused \u2014 25-per-cent across-the-board tariffs on Canada and Mexico, with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy and potash. Goods imported under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA, do not face duties. Imports that fall outside the continental trade pact are hit with the 25 per cent tariff.<\/p>\n
Tariffs on automobiles, steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. also remain in place.<\/p>\n
Ottawa added to its retaliatory measures earlier Wednesday in response to the automobile duties by implementing similar tariffs on vehicles imported from the United States. Unlike the American duties, Canada\u2019s tariffs will not affect auto parts.<\/p>\n
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sent a warning to Canada that if its countermeasures remain in place Trump could hit back hard.<\/p>\n
He said \u201chaving watched how it went with China,\u201d Canada deciding to keep its retaliatory move \u201cwould be a really, really bad choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump\u2019s pause a \u201cwelcome reprieve\u201d but said the upcoming negotiations will \u201clikely result in a fundamental restructuring of the global trading system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs President Trump and I have agreed, the U.S. President and the Canadian Prime Minister will commence negotiations on a new economic and security relationship immediately following the Federal election,\u201d Carney posted on social media.<\/p>\n
At a rally Wednesday night, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made comments about Trump\u2019s latest tariff moves and said that \u201calmost every country in the world got a pause on American tariffs, but not us, America\u2019s best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis, after Prime Minister Carney boasted that he had a \u2018productive phone call with the president,’\u201d Poilievre said, adding that he would \u201cmove quickly\u201d to negotiate an end to tariffs with protections for Canadian sovereignty. \u201cHe said that he had made progress with the president. What progress? What progress do the auto workers in Brampton and Windsor and elsewhere in Canada today see?\u201d<\/p>\n
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said earlier in the day that Trump is causing \u201cchaos\u201d and that Canadians are fed up. He said Canada needs to build a more independent economy, become less dependent on the U.S. and do more to protect workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Also on Wednesday, America\u2019s new top diplomat in Ottawa was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Former Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra said in a statement that \u201cCanada is our most valuable trading partner, our largest source of foreign investment, and our largest source of energy imports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has repeatedly said America doesn\u2019t need anything from Canada. Canadian officials have said Trump\u2019s tariffs undermine CUSMA and his goal is to crush Canada\u2019s economy in order to annex the country.<\/p>\n
Damage to the relationship with Canada came up repeatedly as U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer faced pushback from lawmakers on a congressional committee for a second day on Wednesday. Greer maintained his support for Trump\u2019s trade agenda as Republican and Democrats alike questioned the president\u2019s tariff rollout and the uncertain goals of his massive trade agenda.<\/p>\n
Claudia Tenney, the Republican congresswoman from New York, said there\u2019s been a 23 per cent drop in Canadian visitors to her district\u2019s wineries and she\u2019s concerned about what\u2019s happening to the \u201chistorically strong relationship.\u201d Local industries also rely on steel and aluminum from Canada, she said.<\/p>\n
Richard Neal, a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, told the House Committee on Ways and Means on Wednesday that the trade war is \u201cnot only dumb, it\u2019s unconstitutional.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greer told hearings this week that there would be no exclusions or exemptions, but Trump has shifted course on that as well. The president told reporters at the White House that he would rely on instinct to decide whether any companies or industries should get tariff carve-outs going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to have flexibility,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
\u00a92025 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n