by Brett Samuels at The Hill
President Trump on Thursday signed off on tariff exemptions for imports from Canada and Mexico that are covered under a 2020 North American trade agreement, marking the latest reversal of duties imposed earlier this week.
Under the orders, goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will not be subject to tariffs until April 2, at which point Trump has pledged to impose reciprocal tariffs on other nations with duties on American imports.
One of the orders also stipulates that tariffs on Canadian potash, a key ingredient in fertilizer, be lowered from 25 percent to 10 percent.
The move comes hours after Trump said Mexican imports covered under the USMCA would be exempted, and one day after he said auto imports included in the USMCA would not be subject to tariffs. The exemption also applies to auto parts used in the assembly of cars.
“USMCA-compliant goods will not have a tariff for the next month, until April 2. That includes autos, and the autos were the lead in getting this done, but also Canada and Mexico have done a good job offering us ever more work to prove to us they’re going to cut the fentanyl deaths,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement.
“On April 2, we’re going to move into the reciprocal tariff, and hopefully…
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