August 22, 2025

Canada is making a bold yet friendly move! On Friday, it plans to remove many of the retaliatory tariffs it had slapped on US goods. This dazzling change aims to jump-start stalled trade talks between Canada and the US, a source close to the matter revealed. However, some tariffs on US autos, steel, and aluminum will stay for now. Mark Carney, Canada’s Prime Minister, will announce this news at a press conference scheduled for noon Eastern Time (1600 GMT) on Friday. This news instantly gave a boost to the Canadian dollar, which rose by 0.5%, trading at C$1.3837 to the US dollar (or 72.27 US cents) by 11:05 a.m. Canada and the US have been trying to nail down a new economic and security relationship for months, but talks have not gone well. Carney had promised to stand strong against US President Donald Trump's tariffs during his April election win but has softened his tone recently. In late June, he canceled a proposed digital services tax that the US companies disliked, and in July he dropped plans for more sanctions if the two countries couldn't reach a deal by August 1. Carney talked with Trump on Thursday for the first time since June. According to Carney's office, the conversation was “productive.” When asked for comments, Carney's office stayed quiet. The tariffs Canada will drop apply mostly to goods that follow the rules of the trilateral U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, the insider said. But not everything will change immediately; tariffs on cars, steel, and aluminum remain. This move might give Carney some political headaches. His Liberal party is in a minority in the House of Commons and depends on opposition parties to stay in power. The Conservative Party leader recently accused Carney of being too soft on the US. A bit of history: Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, hit back at Trump by imposing 25% tariffs on C$30 billion (about $21 billion) worth of US goods on March 6. This was part of a bigger plan targeting C$155 billion of US imports, although the rest of the tariffs have been delayed for now. Now, this big rollback could signal a new chapter. Canada seems eager to calm the trade waters and rebuild its partnership with the US. Will this be the spark to get talks moving again? Keep your eyes peeled!

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Tags: Canada, Us tariffs, Mark carney, Trade talks, Retaliatory tariffs,