President Donald Trump yesterday evening announced a three-day pause on the 50% tariffs he threatened on certain Canadian goods while trade negotiations continue, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
“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!,” he said on social media.
WSJ this morning reported that the “new 50% tariff was set to cover $20 billion worth of Canadian goods — about 5% of Canada’s annual exports to the U.S. — ranging from hockey sticks and electronics to plastics and building materials.”
Based on a scan of the Section 338 tariff documents, boats don’t appear to be targeted. The three named categories are motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages and dairy, but each annex sweeps in unrelated goods — cement, plywood, furniture, clothing, wigs, hockey equipment, seeds — alongside fishing rods and pools. Boats aren’t specifically listed among the roughly 554 tariff lines reported across the three annexes.
In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that discussions with the U.S. on addressing bilateral trade issues had yielded substantial progress, but that “there is important work still to be done.”
