Canada will drop its tariffs on a slew of American products, walking back part of its monthslong retaliation against President Trump’s policies, in a bid to jump start stalled talks with its largest trading partner.
While the move restores free trade on most of the goods traded between the two countries, both Canada and the United States will continue to impose tariffs on each other’s steel, aluminum, copper and vehicles, among other key products.
This move matches American policy, as the United States had already exempted Canadian goods that fall under an existing North American trade agreement that also includes Mexico.
Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada said on Friday that his handling of the tariff dispute with the United States had earned Canada the lowest average U.S. tariff rate faced by any nation. He said that rate was 5.6 percent, on average, and that his decision was an effort to preserve and build on that.
“We happen to have the best deal with the Americans right now,” he told reporters in Ottawa.
Canada has been the only country in the world other than China to pursue a policy of retaliation against the Trump administration’s broad and volatile tariffs, imposed on friends and foes.
But, as the United States has struck some trade agreements with other jurisdictions, such as the European Union and Japan, Canada has been left out.
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The post Hoping to Jump Start Talks, Canada to Drop Some Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Products appeared first on New York Times.
