US President Donald Trump signed executive actions Thursday to delay tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, covered under a trade agreement among the three countries, until early next month, a reprieve that followed negotiations with the two neighboring countries.
The White House said that tariff exemptions for goods under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement will remain valid until April 2. The reprieve came after 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods -- with a carve-out for Canadian energy to be taxed at 10 percent -- went into effect on Tuesday following a monthlong pause.
Around 50 percent of Mexican imports and less than 40 percent of Canadian imports are reported to be covered under the trilateral trade agreement, better known as USMCA.
"USMCA-compliant goods will not have a tariff for the next month until April 2," a White House official told reporters in a briefing.
"That includes autos, and the autos were the lead in getting this deal done, but also Canada and Mexico have done a good job offering us ever more work to prove to us that they are going to cut fentanyl deaths," he added.
Early last month, Trump announced the tariffs on Canada and Mexico to stop the flow of undocumented migrants and illicit drugs. He then agreed to a one-month pause as the two countries pledged to ramp up efforts to prevent drug trafficking. But the tariffs took effect Tuesday when the pause ended.
The official reiterated that the Trump administration will impose "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2 as planned. Country-by-country reciprocal tariffs are to be customized based on trading partners' tariffs, non-tariff barriers and exchange rate policies, among others.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced a decision to give a one-month tariff exemption on vehicles coming into the United States through USMCA -- a move meant to support US automakers.
USMCA is a free trade agreement between the three countries, which supplanted the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump signed it into law in 2020 during his first term, as he had sought "fairer and more reciprocal" trade for Americans.
Trump has been using tariffs as a key tool to pare down America's trade deficit, boost domestic manufacturing and achieve other policy goals, including preventing the inflow of unauthorized migrants and illegal drugs. (Yonhap)
