US President Donald Trump announced late on Tuesday night that he was putting a three-day pause on new 50% tariffs set to go into effect on Canadian goods on Wednesday, saying the two countries had reached an agreement.
The pause was “based on the fact that Canada and the USA, subject to the finalisation of documents, have a DEAL,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
An hour later, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that “substantial progress has been made, although there is important work still to be done.”
Trump added in his social media post that the Keystone XL Pipeline – a project cancelled by former President Joe Biden in 2021 after years of indigenous and environmental opposition – “may be awoken from the grave,” but did not provide details.
Trump’s post came after he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday afternoon, their second conversation this week, and after weeks of intense, opaque negotiations.
Existing US auto tariffs had been a sticking point, two industry sources familiar with the talks said earlier.
The new US tariffs would have covered about $20 billion worth of imports and applied regardless of whether Canadian goods qualify for preferential treatment under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which has shielded muc