Canada announced Friday that it will lift a wide range of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, signaling a renewed commitment to advancing stalled trade negotiations with the United States.
The move comes as part of Canada’s broader effort to align more closely with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and to re-establish free trade on a broad scale between the two countries.
While tariffs on U.S. automobiles, steel, and aluminum will remain in place for the time being, Canadian officials confirmed that tariffs on goods covered under USMCA will be fully removed.
“Free Trade Re-Established for Most Goods”
Speaking at a press conference in Ottawa, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney emphasized that the move was consistent with Canada’s commitment to the USMCA framework.
“In this context and consistent with Canada’s commitment to USMCA, I am announcing today that the Canadian government will now match the United States by removing all of Canada’s tariffs on U.S. goods specifically covered under USMCA,” Carney said.
“Canada and the U.S. have now re-established free trade for the vast majority of our goods,” he added.
Carney also stressed that Canadian exporters still benefit from one of the most favorable trade arrangements with the United States.
“Canada currently has the best trade deal with the United States. And while it’s different from what we had before, it’s still better than that of any other country,” he noted.
White House Welcomes Canada’s Move
The administration had placed pressure on Canada to reverse course on recent protectionist measures, especially those seen as violating the spirit of USMCA.
According to the White House, the removal of tariffs is viewed as a necessary first step toward resolving broader trade and national security concerns.
“We welcome this move by Canada, which is long overdue,” a White House official told Fox News.
“We look forward to continuing our discussions with Canada on the Administration’s trade and national security concerns.”
President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January, reportedly told Carney that lifting the tariffs would help re-open stalled trade negotiations between the two longtime partners.
This week’s announcement follows other recent efforts by Canada to de-escalate trade tensions. In late June, Ottawa scrapped plans to implement a controversial digital services tax that had drawn sharp opposition from U.S. tech firms.
That decision helped remove a major obstacle to restarting formal talks.
