JUST IN: Canada Caves To Trump In Major Trade War Victory

Canada is soon going to remove retaliatory tariffs it had imposed on a lengthy list of products imported into the country from the United States in compliance with the existing North American trade deal, as a means of easing tensions with the Trump administration.

Prime Minister Mark Carney will be announcing the decision on Friday after holding a meeting with his cabinet. The Canadian government will make changes to its current tariff policy so that it aligns more closely with measures from the U.S., said sources who are close to the situation.

A broad range of products from the United States will no longer be under a 25 percent tariff when they are exported to our neighbors to the north, as long as they are in line with the provisions contained within the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement.

However, the tariff will continue for products made from steel and aluminum, along with cars and other vehicles. President Donald Trump has placed levies on the products in all of those categories.

It’s a move designed to lay the groundwork for a review of the USMCA, which will happen sometime over the next several months. The counter-tariff regime in Canada will now change focus to the critical importance of that agreement, sources said, according to Bloomberg.

This is a significant shift in policy from Canada, which was one of the few nations to take swift retaliatory action against the U.S., deeply irritating the president and Howard Lutnick, his Secretary of Commerce. The announcement follows a conversation between Carney and Trump, held over the phone.

It was the first time the two men had spoken to each other in weeks.

Canada hit back with its first round of counter-tariffs in early March when it put a 25 percent tax ($21.7 billion) on most U.S. goods, which included orange juice, wine, clothing, and motorcycles. The next round came as a response to the president’s decision to put tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum.

Later on, President Trump raised the tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent, which did not sit well with Carney. He immediately threatened to retaliate. However, he never took that course of action.