United States agrees to lift steel and aluminium tariffs on Canada and Mexico
The US has reached an agreement with Canada to relax tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
The current 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium is scheduled to end within the next 48 hours.
Read more: Trump pardons fraudster media mogul Conrad Black
Speaking at the National Association of Realtors on Friday, Trump said: “I’m pleased to announce we’ve just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico to sell product without the imposition of major tariffs.”
Washington brought the tariffs in on their neighbouring countries last year for reasons of "national security".
It is widely expected that a similar deal with Mexico will be announced soon in a move that could open the doors to a new North American trade deal.
The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal was signed in 2018, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement, but it still needs ratifying by the countries' three governments.
That could happen soon, providing a deal with Mexico is confirmed.
Canada has also lifted the tariffs going in the other direction after implementing them in retaliation to the Trump administration last year.
Read more: Trump delays car tariffs decision by six months
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "Now that we’ve had a full lift on these tariffs we are going to work with the United States on timing for ratification” of the new trade deal.
Under the countries new agreement there are no quotes on how much steel or aluminium they can import from overseas, but both the US and Canada will monitor imports and if a country is deemed to be buying too much, a consultation can be requested with the possibility of re-imposing tariffs.