Trump repeatedly changes his stance, White House: tariffs on Canada will still be implemented as planned on March 4th
At the first cabinet meeting held at the White House on the 26th, US President Donald Trump announced that he would postpone the imposition of new tariffs on Canada and Mexico until April 2nd. However, White House officials later clarified that the tariffs would still be implemented as planned on March 4th, unless significant progress is made in combating the drug fentanyl between the two countries.
White House officials told CTV News that this decision may change, but it depends on the current progress of negotiations.
The official said in an email on Wednesday, "As of now, we have no progress to share, so this tariff will still be pushed forward according to the President's instructions
Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposed Canada's border security and fentanyl crisis response plan to Trump through two direct phone conversations, in order to secure a 30 day tariff buffer period.
But Trump has stated that other tariff measures are also coming, including steel and aluminum tariffs that will take effect on March 12th, as well as "equivalent tariffs" in early April, which Trump called a "big move".
Image source: globalnews
At Wednesday's press conference, Trump appeared to have confused the timing of the tariff plan, claiming that the 25% punitive tariff would take effect on Canada and Mexico on April 2nd.
However, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later stated that the tariffs would still proceed according to the original March 4th schedule, and referred to it as "fentanyl related tariffs".
After the 30 day buffer period ends, Canada must demonstrate to the President that they have met the relevant requirements, "Lutnick said." If they have met the requirements, he may suspend them; if not, they will not suspend them
Trump then interjected, "It's not easy to satisfy him." Trump once again mentioned fentanyl related deaths in the United States, stating that "a large amount of fentanyl comes from Canada.
According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, over the past 12 months, U.S. border agents have seized approximately 49 pounds of fentanyl at the U.S. - Canada border.
By contrast, at the US Mexico border, approximately 19500 pounds of fentanyl were seized during the same period.
Trump once again proposes that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States
At the White House press conference on Wednesday, Trump once again misstated the size of the US trade deficit with Canada and claimed that "Canada should become the 51st state of the United States".
CTV News has contacted the Canadian Prime Minister's Office for the latest information on the progress of negotiations, but has not received a response yet.
Canadian Industry Minister Fran ç ois Philippe Champagne said on Wednesday that the Canadian federal government is "closely monitoring" developments in the United States.
He told reporters, 'One thing we have learned is that we need to listen carefully to the President's speech step by step, but at the same time, we must develop action plans based on the signed executive orders.'.
Trump has announced twice that he will impose a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, the first on January 20th and the second on February 1st, but both times the implementation was ultimately postponed.
Canadian Foreign Minister M é lanie Joly told CTV News earlier this week that Trump is the only tariff decision-maker, but she emphasized that if tariffs officially take effect on March 4th, Canada is ready to launch a $155 billion counter tariff plan.
Former Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz stated that if Trump fulfills his tariff threat and fully implements it, it would be equivalent to a "permanent 5% pay cut" for the Canadian economy as a whole.
In addition, White House officials stated in an email sent to CTV News that Trump plans to launch "equivalent tariffs" in April (meaning that the United States will impose corresponding import taxes on countries that tax American products), and the plan is "still being pushed forward".
Source link:
https://www.cp24.com/news/canada/2025/02/26/white-house-says-sweeping-25-tariffs-on-canada-moving-ahead-pending-ongoing-negotiations/