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Dow Jones NewsMar 6, 8:35 PM UTC
DJ Trump Delays Tariffs on Some Mexican, Canadian Goods -- Barrons.com
By Janet H. Cho
President Donald Trump has delayed his 25% tariffs on some goods from Mexico and Canada that complied with his previous free trade agreement and could pause levies on other goods, administration officials said.
The White House said Thursday afternoon that the U.S. is pausing his tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada that comply with the USMCA, the acronym for the U.S. Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump negotiated in his first term.
It was not immediately clear what categories of goods would still be subject to tariffs.
Trump posted on his social media account that he had suspended the tariffs on Mexican imports after speaking with Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum. He said the delay was until April 2.
That is the date when the administration is expected to reveal its reciprocal tariffs on goods imported from nations that put duties on goods from the U.S.
Sheinbaum thanked Trump in her own social media post. "We had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results, within the framework of respect for our sovereignties," she wrote. "We will continue to work together, particularly on migration and security issues, including reducing the illegal crossing of fentanyl into the United States, as well as weapons into Mexico," according to a Google translation of her post.
The move comes a day after the Trump administration gave auto makers a one-month reprieve from 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a CNBC interview Thursday morning said "It's not likely to be just the automakers," adding, "it's likely that it will cover all USMCA-compliant goods and services."
Trump imposed the tariffs on Tuesday, citing the continued flow of the drug fentanyl across the U.S. border, blaming Mexico, Canada, and China for failing to do enough to stop it.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods in retaliation.
Trump also added another 10% to existing tariffs on goods from China, to which China responded with an additional 15% tariff on many U.S. agricultural goods.
By April 2, however, "hopefully Mexico and Canada will have done a good enough job on fentanyl that this part of the conversation will be off the table and we'll move just to the reciprocal tariff conversation," Lutnick said. "But if they haven't, this will stay on. Black and white, this will stay on."
Trump said he delayed the tariffs on Mexico "out of respect" for Sheinbaum and that "we are working hard, together, on the Border" to stop unauthorized migrants and fentanyl from entering the U.S.
More announcements could be coming on Thursday. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said that exemptions and carveouts for agricultural products could include fertilizers.
Former Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told MSNBC on Monday that 80% of the fertilizer the U.S. needs comes from Canada, and that putting a 25% tax on it would raise grocery prices for Americans.
Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
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March 06, 2025 15:35 ET (20:35 GMT)
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