MEXICO CITY — In a dizzying turn, President Trump said Thursday that the U.S. would temporarily reverse the sweeping tariffs it imposed just days ago on most Mexican products.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he would delay for one month the imposition of 25% taxes on Mexican imports that fall under a free trade agreement that he negotiated during his last term.
His remarks follow comments from U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who on Thursday said in a television interview that Trump was “likely” to temporarily suspend 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for most products and services, widening an exemption that was granted Wednesday only to vehicles.
Lutnick told CNBC that the one-month delay in the import taxes “will likely cover all USMCA-compliant goods and services,” a reference to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, the North America free trade pact Trump negotiated in his last term. Lutnick said around half of what the U.S. imports from Mexico and Canada would be eligible.
Lutnick said the reprieve will last only until April 2, when the Trump administration has said it will impose reciprocal tariffs on countries to match the ones they have on U.S. exports. Later, he said that if Canada and Mexico don’t do enough to stop fentanyl from entering the United States, the 25% tariffs could be reapplied in a month as well.
On Tuesday, the U.S. began placing duties of 25% on imported goods from Mexico and Canada, with a 10% rate on Canadian energy products. It also began imposing a new 10% tax on all imports from China.
Trump has said the tariffs are punishment because the three countries haven’t done enough to stop the flow of immigrants without proper documentation and drugs into the United States — and are an attempt to lure manufacturing back to the United States.
China and Canada responded forcefully, both imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had said that Mexico would also respond with counter tariffs, and had planned to announce them Sunday at a public rally in Mexico City’s central square.
In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he welcomed news that the U.S. would delay, but said Canada’s imposition of retaliatory tariffs will remain in place for now. “We will not be backing down from our response tariffs until such a time as the unjustified American tariffs [on] Canadian goods are lifted,” he said.
Trudeau told reporters that the U.S. and Canada are “actively engaged in ongoing conversations in trying to make sure these tariffs don’t overly harm” certain sectors and workers.