Mexico dodges U.S. tariffs temporarily

Glacier FarmMedia—It appears U.S. tariffs on Mexico are off the table — for now — in President Donald Trump’s chaotic trade war.

In a post on the Trump-owned Truth Social, Trump wrote that “after speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA agreement” and noted this was in effect until April 2.

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In 2023, Saskatchewan exported about $834 million worth of agricultural equipment to the United States. A portion of those exports were straw choppers and weed seed control units, manufactured by Redekop at its plant near Saskatoon.

He said the move was made out of “respect for President Sheinbaum,” and described the relationship as a “very good one” and praised Mexico for its hard work and co-operation on border issues.

At the same time the Reuters news service reported Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as saying that Canada will continue to be in a trade war with the United States for the foreseeable future, a day after what he called a “colourful” call with President Donald Trump.

Trudeau said Canada would continue to engage with senior Trump administration officials about tariffs Washington says it will impose on Canadian imports, reiterating that his goal was to get the measures removed.

“I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future,” he told reporters in Ottawa.

Canada immediately imposed 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion of U.S. imports and Trudeau said those measures would remain in place until the Trump administration ended its trade action.

Trudeau and Trump, who accused Canada of not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal migrants across the border, held a 50-minute call on Wednesday.

“It was a colourful call. It was also a very substantive call,” said Trudeau, adding that the two sides were in talks but had nothing to announce yet.

“We are … trying to make sure that these tariffs don’t overly harm, certainly in the short term, certain sectors.”

One topic of conversation is Canada possibly delaying a second round of 25 per cent tariffs on a further $125 billion of U.S. imports, due to come into effect in less than three weeks.

Trump will exempt automakers from tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month as long as they comply with existing free trade rules, the White House said on Wednesday.