US President Donald Trump, on his social media platform Truth Social, has announced that he has paused the 50% tariffs on Canada which were supposed to
kick in from Thursday. He claims that the pause on tariffs is because the two countries "have a deal, subject to finalisation." President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is pausing the 50% tariffs on Canadian goods that were set to take effect at midnight, saying a deal with Canada has been reached pending final paperwork. "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." Trump wrote on Truth Social. He also floated the revival of the Keystone XL pipeline, writing that the project "may be awoken from the grave" after being "killed by Joe Biden." The tariffs were brought up in July 20, 2026, when Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which is a provision that lets the president impose duties of up to 50% on a country found to discriminate against U.S. commerce. The administration pointed to Canadian trade practices around automobiles, alcohol, and dairy as the discriminatory conduct. These tariffs bypassed USMCA protections entirely. Covering everything from cement to hockey sticks, the 50% duties, were set to take effect just after midnight Wednesday. The measures affected close to $20 billion in annual Canadian imports, said reports. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump spoke by phone Tuesday afternoon, just hours ahead of the deadline. Reports over the preceding days indicated the outline of a deal had already taken shape, possibly hinting at Trump easing tariffs on Canadian autos, steel, aluminum, and forest products in exchange for Canadian concessions on alcohol, dairy, and government procurement rules. Canada's trade minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief negotiator Janice Charette had spent the week in Washington meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
