(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods are set to take effect early Saturday morning, just days after he pushed back a previous deadline while the two sides negotiated a trade agreement.
Trump claimed earlier this week the United States had reached a preliminary deal to resolve a dispute with one of its top trade partners, saying the breakthrough had prompted him to issue a reprieve from the levies.
A statement from Canada appeared to downplay Trump’s assertion about the trade agreement, touting “substantial progress” but noting that important work remained.
The new tariffs, targeting dozens of products from hockey sticks to wine, are poised to take hold at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Due to exemptions on key goods, the tariffs were expected to hit only a fraction of U.S. imports from Canada. Still, the list of affected goods features an array of food items such as dairy products, honey, whey protein and molasses as well as alcoholic beverages like whiskey and vodka.
It all comes weeks after Trump imposed sweeping new tariffs on 60 trade partners, including the European Union. Those levies ramped up an effort to reconstruct far-reaching duties struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
Trump said Wednesday that he had held a “very good conversation” with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday night, repeating that he’d struck a deal to avert the 50% American tariff on a hodgepodge of Canadian goods.
The president claimed that as part of the deal, Canadian tariffs on American agricultural goods would be “non-existent.”
“The tariffs will be non-existent for our farmers. Our farmers were paying tremendous tariffs into Canada. And those tariffs are going to be totally eviscerated down to zero,” Trump noted.
In a statement, Carney said the country’s representatives aimed to achieve an agreement that would bolster its domestic industry.
“While we continue this work, Canada remains focused on building a stronger, more independent, and more competitive economy at home,” Carney said in a statement.
When later asked by a reporter whether the deal would reduce tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, Trump added, “Well, we’re looking at that.”
The U.S. trade representative’s office on X responded to Trump’s announcement Tuesday, providing a bit of insight into what a final deal might entail.
“The deal will include comprehensive market access for all American goods, economic security commitments, digital trade alignment, and many important provisions that will continue to protect our market and American workers, along with our Canadian partners,” the USTR posted.
Trump had suggested the deal might include a renewed effort to build the Keystone Pipeline despite the project being canceled in 2021 after years of criticism about the project’s environmental impact.
“Keystone XL Pipeline, long ago killed by Sleepy Joe Biden, may be awoken from the grave!” Trump added in the post.
Unlike previous tariffs, the new U.S. tariffs on Canada would have applied to products compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, a free trade agreement. The levies included significant exemptions, however, leaving out some top Canadian imports such as oil, gas and potash.
Trump has carried out on-again, off-again trade negotiations with Canada since he took office, aiming to resolve a dispute that began with tariffs announced by Trump early in his second term.
Trump sought to impose the new tariffs under a legal authority enshrined in section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the president to enact levies up to 50% for countries found to have discriminated against the U.S. relative to their treatment of other nations.
The provision has never been invoked before, meaning the move lacks judicial precedent, Abigail Watt, an economist at UBS, said in a memo shared with ABC News.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
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