U.S. President Donald Trump says he is pausing for three days the new tariffs that were set to hit Canada just after midnight, after announcing that the two countries have reached a trade deal.
In a Truth Social post Tuesday evening, Trump wrote: “I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three day period, based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL! The great Keystone XL Pipeline, long ago killed by Sleepy Joe Biden, may be awoken from the grave! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
The announcement comes after Canada and the United States reached a trade agreement, avoiding a fresh round of sweeping 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods that Trump had threatened last month.
The president pointed to the Keystone XL pipeline in his initial social media post, quickly following with a fictional image of him slamming an illustration of the pipeline into the ground.
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Former president Joe Biden signed an executive order to revoke the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transferred oil from Alberta to Nebraska, on his first day in office. Trump returned to office set on changing that decision. Earlier this year, he signed an executive order for permits to revive parts of the Keystone project.
It’s not clear how much of the trade talks between Canadian and American officials focused on the energy project. Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Trump by phone Tuesday, hours before the U.S. was set to bring in the tariffs.
Ottawa’s efforts were led by Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief negotiator Janice Charette, who were in Washington, D.C. trying to work out a deal with their American counterparts.
By reaching a deal, Canada is set to avoid the 50 per cent tariffs on roughly $28 billion worth of Canadian goods that were scheduled to take effect at midnight. The levies targeted a wide range of products, from hockey sticks and honey to wine and cement.
Canadian officials were also looking to see relief on existing tariffs that target steel, aluminum, lumber and autos.
It remained unclear late Tuesday what had been agreed to under the tentative agreement Trump announced.
The Canadian government did not immediately release a statement.
-with files from The Canadian Press
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