Trump pauses new tariffs on Canada and says countries close to a deal

President Donald Trump announced a pause on new tariffs against Canada, stating that the 50 % duties set to take effect in three days have been halted pending a deal. In a social‑media post he wrote, “I person paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to footwear successful time greeting for a 3 time period, based connected the information that Canada and the U.S.A., taxable to the finalization of documents, person a DEAL!” The announcement arrived less than two hours before a 50 % levy on roughly $20 billion (C$28 billion) of Canadian imports was scheduled to begin. Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke twice this week, while trade negotiators have been engaged in intensified discussions since July, after Trump threatened the levy with a deadline of 19 August. Trump also suggested that a final trade agreement could clear the way for the Keystone XL pipeline to move forward. On Truth Social he declared, “The large Keystone XL Pipeline, agelong agone killed by Sleepy Joe Biden, whitethorn beryllium awoken from the grave!” The pipeline, which would carry 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta to the United States, was blocked by both the Obama and Biden administrations and has long faced opposition from environmentalists and Indigenous groups. The pause was welcomed by Canadian negotiators and businesses on both sides of the border, which had warned that the new tariffs would harm the two economies. Tensions have risen since Trump returned to office in January last year and launched a broad global tariff initiative that disrupted decades of relatively free trade between Canada and the United States. The threatened tariffs would have applied to a range of Canadian products, including wine, dairy, cement, covering and hockey equipment, in addition to existing duties on Canadian steel and aluminium, autos and lumber. Canada has sought an agreement that would see the United States drop or reduce those duties on the affected sectors. For its part, Washington has asked Canada to remove remaining retaliatory tariffs on American automobiles, adjust dairy quotas to allow greater access for U.S. producers, and lift the provincial bans on U.S. alcohol sales that were imposed last year in response to Trump’s tariffs. In the final hours before Wednesday’s deadline, negotiators were discussing a proposal that would lower U.S. tariffs on Canadian autos from 25 % to 15 %, according to a Reuters report citing anonymous sources. The two sides could not agree on which vehicles would qualify, with the United States pushing for eligibility limited to models with a high proportion of American‑made content. Carney will also need the approval of provincial premiers to reinstate the sale of U.S. alcohol, as liquor distribution falls under provincial jurisdiction. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was “unfastened to lifting the liquor prohibition lone if a "fair deal" is reached.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged a resolution, warning that “higher tariffs would harm some economies, thrust up costs for US families, further disrupt captious proviso chains, and hazard the 13 cardinal American jobs that beryllium connected commercialized nether the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement”.