Trump News : President Donald Trump has once again dialed back his tariff offensive, suspending 25% levies on Canadian and Mexican imports covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April 2, just days after imposing them on March 4.
Highlights
- Trump pauses tariffs on Canada and Mexico until April 2, easing immediate trade war fears.
- President insists tariffs remain a “vital tool” for U.S. economic and security leverage.
- Markets drop despite reprieve, reflecting uncertainty over Trump’s tariff strategy.
The decision, formalized via executive orders signed Thursday, March 7, follows intense pushback from U.S. automakers and market turmoil, yet Trump doubled down Friday, calling tariffs a “beautiful” and indispensable weapon to protect American jobs and pressure global partners.
Despite the pause—sparing roughly half of Mexico’s exports and 38% of Canada’s—the White House insists its broader “reciprocal tariff” plan remains on track, leaving businesses and allies on edge.
A Tactical Retreat, Not a Surrender
Trump’s latest pivot came after a whirlwind week of trade chaos. On Tuesday, he enacted 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and doubled Chinese duties to 20%, citing fentanyl flows and trade imbalances.
By Wednesday, a one-month auto exemption eased carmakers’ fears of $4,000–$10,000 price hikes, and Thursday’s orders expanded that reprieve to all USMCA-compliant goods, per White House officials. “There’ll be a little short-term interruption—I don’t think it’s big,” Trump told reporters Thursday, brushing off the Dow’s 425-point drop.
Senior adviser Peter Navarro reinforced this on CNBC Friday, saying tariff threats alone spurred U.S. supply chain investments—“a certainty” more are coming April 2.
The pause followed calls with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who bolstered border security—Canada with a $1.3 billion plan, Mexico with 10,000 National Guard troops—to curb drugs and migration, Trump’s stated triggers.
Yet, Trump’s Oval Office remarks Friday framed tariffs as more than leverage: “They’re vital to reorder our web of relationships—economic, military, political—for the American people,” echoing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s Economic Club of New York speech. China, unspared, faces ongoing 20% duties, with Trump hinting at steeper hikes if fentanyl persists.
Mixed Signals Rattle Markets and Allies
The tariff rollercoaster—impose, pause, threaten—has markets and neighbors reeling. The S&P 500 fell 1.8% Thursday despite the rollback, defying patterns of relief rallies, as Axios noted, with uncertainty trumping reprieve.
Canada’s retaliatory $30 billion tariffs hit U.S. goods Tuesday, with more looming in 21 days, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford axed a $100M Starlink deal and threatened power cuts to 1.5 million U.S. homes.
Mexico delayed its levies, set for Sunday, but Sheinbaum’s border concessions signal wary cooperation. “This isn’t stability—it’s whiplash,” said Barry Appleton of the Center for International Law to CBS News, warning of stalled investments.
A Tool Trump Won’t Relinquish
Trump’s tariff playbook—honed since his 1980s Japan critiques—sees short-term “disturbance” as a fair trade-off, per his March 4 Congressional address. The April 2 deadline, tied to “tailor-made” reciprocal rates, keeps the threat alive, Navarro said, despite economists’ warnings of stagflation risks.
With China retaliating (15% on U.S. coal, 10% on oil) and the EU eyeing its own response, Trump’s pause buys time but not trust. As he juggles crypto summits and Iran threats, his tariff zeal—backed by voters but not markets—promises a bumpy ride, with the “vital tool” poised to reshape America’s global stance, one levy at a time.
