President Donald Trump granted temporary tariff exemptions for Canadian and Mexican goods covered by the North American trade agreement known as USMCA until April 2.
About 50% of Mexican imports and 38% of Canadian imports are covered by the trade agreement, according to a White House official.
Trump is poised to enact “reciprocal tariffs” April 2 on foreign nations that have import taxes on U.S. goods.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico should be spared when such reciprocal tariffs come into effect. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his goal remains to get “all tariffs removed.”
Thursday’s tariff exceptions excluded those imposed on China. The country is standing tough, saying it’s prepared to fight “any type of war” with the U.S.