Trudeau, Trump agree to push tariffs until March

In fact, the Government of Canada had pushed back, saying it would implement 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of US products starting at the same time.

“Canada will not stand by as the United States imposes unjustified and unreasonable tariffs on Canadian goods,” the Department of Finance Canada said in a statement on Sunday, Feb. 2.

But just before 5 p.m. ET on Monday, Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced they had talked and both sides would be pausing the tariffs for a 30-day period, so we had to slightly redo this post.

Trudeau said Canada is implementing a $1.3 billion border plan, which includes sending ~10,000 frontline personnel “to stop the flow of fentanyl.”

Pleased with this initial outcome, Trump said tariffs would be “paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured.”

Canada’s initial list of US products to hit with tariffs is long and can be found here. The steel-intensive appliances on the list could be of interest to the SMU community: refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, stoves, and ranges.

Canada said steel, aluminum, automobiles, and aerospace products were among the US products that faced tariffs on a second list. Stay tuned for next month’s tariff deadline crunch.

Canadian steel industry displeased

The Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) initially reacted with deep disappointment to Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian products. President Catherine Cobden highlighted the “significant disruption and economic hardship” the tariffs would cause for the highly integrated North American steel industry.

Cobden said it’s concerning that Canada’s efforts to safeguard the North American steel market are not being recognized. She pointed out that Canada has demonstrated a willingness to work with the US to tackle unfair trade, from enacting melted and poured requirements to aligning tariffs on Chinese products.

Before late Monday’s deal, CSPA welcomed the Canadian government’s “decisive action through retaliation” and supportive approach to helping the country’s industry.

USW chimes in

The United Steelworkers spoke up on behalf of its many members on both sides of the US/Canada border.

“The USW has long called for systemic reform of our broken trade system, but lashing out at key allies like Canada is not the way forward,” USW International President David McCall said in a statement on Feb. 1.

“The key to eliminating unfair competition, confronting global overcapacity in crucial sectors, and stemming the flow of unfairly traded products making their way into North America is targeted tariffs on countries that violate our trade laws and greater coordination with our trusted allies – not sweeping actions that undermine crucial relationships,” he noted.

Tariffs threaten to destabilize industries on both sides of the border, he said. He called on the president “to reverse course on Canadian tariffs so that we can focus on trade solutions that will serve working families for the long-term.”