KABUL (Pajhwok): The United States and Canada have reached a last-minute deal to delay steep tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of Canadian goods, temporarily easing fears of a renewed trade war.
US President Donald Trump announced the agreement shortly before a 50 percent tariff was due to take effect at midnight, Al Jazeera reported.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney later confirmed that Washington had agreed to suspend the tariffs until August 22.
The proposed duties would have affected about $20.2 billion worth of Canadian exports, including electronics, machinery, furniture, dairy products and wine.
Trump said the three-day pause followed an agreement “subject to finalization of documents,” but neither side disclosed details.
Trump appeared to link the deal to efforts to revive the Keystone XL pipeline, which was halted in 2021 after former US President Joe Biden revoked a key permit for the project.
Carney said “substantial progress” had been made but added that “important work” remained.
The suspension is expected to provide relief to Canadian exporters, about 70 percent of whose exports go to the US.
The latest tariffs would have applied to goods eligible for duty-free treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has kept most US-Canadian trade tariff-free.
sa
