Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday evening that Canada had secured a thirty-day pause on tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump after promising to deploy more resources to the Canada-U.S. border.

U.S. President Donald Trump had ordered 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, with the exception of energy, which would be subject to a 10% tariff. In response, Trudeau announced counter tariffs on $30 billion in American goods, primed to rise to $155 billion later this month.

“I just had a good call with President Trump. Canada is implementing our $1.3 billion border plan—reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl,” Trudeau said in a post on social media site X. “Nearly 10,000 frontline personnel are and will be working on protecting the border.”

“Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together,” Trudeau said.

Canada has also promised to appoint a “fentanyl czar” and ensure 24/7 supervision of the border, in addition to launching a Canada-U.S. joint strike force to “combat organized crime, fentanyl, and money laundering.” Trudeau also promised $200 million towards a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl.

In a post on social media following the meeting, Trump expressed his approval of Canada’s border plan and alluded to a potential “economic deal” with Canada during the pause in tariffs.

“I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30-day period to see whether or not a final economic deal with Canada can be structured,” he said in a post on social media. “FAIRNESS FOR ALL!”

Earlier in the day, Trump had also announced a month-long delay on tariffs against Mexico, after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to send 10,000 Mexican National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.

“These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal migrants into our country,” said Trump in a post to social media.

Counter-Tariffs Potential Impact on CHPTA Member Products

Just prior to the Prime Minister’s announcement regarding the 30-day pause on tariffs, the CHPTA had sent an email out to our members informing them of the Department of Finance Canada’s list of products from the United States that would have been subject to 25% tariffs effective Tuesday, February 4th.

According to that news release, the tariffs only apply to goods originating from the US, which shall be considered as those goods eligible to be marked as a good of the US in accordance with the Determination of Country of Origin for the Purposed of Marking Goods (CUSMA Countries) Regulations.

The full list of products is a long one but several product categories from CHPTA members would be impacted if these tariffs are ever implemented:
List of products from the United States subject to 25 per cent tariffs effective February 4, 2025 – Canada.ca

Impacted product categories include: 

  • Plastic building materials, including flooring, shutters, blinds, and doors.
  • Bathroom appliances and accessories, including bathtubs, toilet seats, showers, and sinks.
  • Kitchenware, tableware, and glassware, including forks, spoons, knives, and cups.
  • Lumber and wood products, including plywood, beams, fiberboard, windows, shingles, flooring, doors, and doorframes.
  • Camping and other outdoor equipment, including tents, tarps, mattresses, rock climbing harnesses, life jackets, and sails.
  • Towels, duster, dish and other cleaning cloths.
  • Kitchen appliances, including stoves, microwaves, bread makers, hot plates, toasters, coffee makers, and portable stoves.
  • Vacuum Cleaners
  • Fans
  • Dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, and laundry machines.
  • Snowplows, snow blowers, and lawnmowers.
  • Tools such as saws, wrenches, drills, hammers, and screwdrivers.
  • Cutting knives
  • Padlocks
  • Shaving products, including razors, shaving cream, and aftershave.
  • Electric hair accessories, including dryers and irons.
  • Lights, lamps, Christmas lights, and light fixtures.

This list of $30 billion in goods imported from the U.S covered by tariffs would be a first phase.

As per the news release, the Canadian government would have also intended to impose tariffs on an additional list of imported U.S. products, worth $125 billion. This second list was to be made available in the coming days, for a 21-day public comment period prior to implementation. It would have included products such as passenger vehicles, trucks and buses, steel and aluminum products, certain fruits and vegetables, aerospace products, beef, pork, dairy products, and more.

The government said it would also take steps to mitigate the impact of its tariff countermeasures on Canadian workers and businesses by establishing a remission process to consider requests for exceptional relief from the tariffs imposed as part of Canada’s immediate response, as well as any future tariff actions. More details about the framework and process will be announced in the coming days.

Click the link below to read the full statement:
Canada announces $155B tariff package in response to unjustified U.S. tariffs – Canada.ca

Let’s hope further discussion over the next 30 days will lead to more positive agreement on trade and border security issues between Canada and the US, and any implementation of tariffs can be avoided.

Source: Financial Post
Source: CTV News
Source: Government of Canada