- President Donald Trump issues orders for new Canada, Mexico tariffs pause until April 2
- Trade rules will revert to previous guidance under 2018 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement
- Tariffs on Chinese goods remain in place.
Just two days after declaring an end to a 30-day pause on a new 25% trade tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, President Donald Trump announced Thursday another 30-day reprieve on the new levy for goods previously covered in a 2018 free trade agreement.
The pause on Mexican imports first came to light via a Trump posting on Truth Social.
“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement,” Trump wrote. “This Agreement is until April 2nd. I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl. Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!”
A few hours later, the president signed executive orders that included a delay until April 2 for Canadian import goods as well.
After earlier declining to extend a 30-day pause for new trade levies targeting Canadian and Mexican imports announced last month, tariffs ordered by Trump took effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Trump has said the new levies are aimed at quelling illegal immigration as well as the flow of drugs like fentanyl into the U.S.
The new assessments also include a 10% tariff on Canadian energy products.
On Monday, Trump also ordered an additional round of 10% tariffs on goods from China, adding to the 10% levy the U.S. imposed last month.
Trump circled back on Wednesday with a temporary carveout on his tariff declarations, announcing a new 30-day pause that applies just to automotive industry imports from Canada and Mexico.
“We spoke with the Big Three auto dealers. We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through (U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement),” Trump said in a statement read by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday, according to CNN. Those dealers included Stellantis, Ford and General Motors, which requested the call, she said.
While White House officials told reporters on Thursday that details regarding exactly what import goods would or would not be covered under the new agreement were still being determined but guidance is likely to roughly follow the stipulations in the 2018 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump signed during his first term in office.
U.S. companies conducted $2.2 trillion worth of import-export business last year and the countries targeted by the president’s new tariffs represent the biggest U.S. trading partners. In 2024, U.S. import-export transactions with Mexico totaled $840 billion, Canada $762 billion and China $582 billion, per a report from The Associated Press.