U.S. president-elect Donald Trump will not impose his promised tariffs on Canada, Mexico or China on his first day in office, according to multiple U.S. reports, giving this country something of a reprieve, at least for now.
Trump, who will be sworn in as president around noon on Monday, has been reviewing three options: a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, a 10 per cent tariff on goods from all countries or an escalating tariff that starts low and rises over time, according to Canadian officials.
A Trump administration official confirmed to Reuters that Trump will hold off for now and instead direct agencies in a memo to “investigate and remedy persistent trade deficits and address unfair trade and currency policies by other nations.”
The memo will single out China, Canada and Mexico for scrutiny but will not announce new tariffs, the official said.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report Trump will stop short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office, as Canada and other countries potentially caught in the cross hairs had feared.
Canada is prepared to impose retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. if Trump moves ahead with trade action in the coming days.
“It’s not something that we want to do but we will do it in response, of course, if the Americans decide to do it,” Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in an interview with CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday.