Trump's latest tariff twist: A break for Mexico and Canada

President Trump said on Thursday that he will give Mexico a break on tariffs — the latest twist in his on-again, off-again approach to the issue that has sent markets into a tailspin.

Trump's 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods went into effect on Tuesday. After talking to the Big 3 U.S. automakers on Wednesday, Trump decided to give them a one-month reprieve from the tariffs.

And then after a conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday, he said on social media that he would give a break to all Mexican goods covered by the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

"I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum," Trump said in his post, thanking Sheinbaum for her work addressing migration and fentanyl trafficking.

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The break lasts until April 2

Trump said the reprieve will last until April 2, which is the date that he has vowed to begin "reciprocal tariffs" on goods from a wider range of countries.

The rates, products and countries affected by the upcoming reciprocal tariffs are still to be determined.

Trump originally planned to impose tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods on Feb. 1 to push the U.S. neighbors to do more stop migration and drug trafficking — but then delayed them by a month.

Then last week, he told reporters he was looking at April 2 as a start date for the tariffs — before reversing and putting them in place on March 4.

Most Mexican goods will be included in the reprieve

Sheinbaum described her phone call with Trump as "respectful." She said she walked Trump through a set of his own government's statistics showing a huge drop in the amount of fentanyl being seized by border authorities.

"I asked him, 'How can we continue to collaborate if the U.S. is doing something that hurts the Mexican people?'" Sheinbaum told reporters. She explained that it wasn't a threat. "I just asked him to understand my position," she said.

Sheinbaum had been set to announce retaliatory measures at a mass rally on Sunday. Now, she said it will be a celebration.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described a recent call with U.S. President Donald Trump as "colorful."

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Dave Chan

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AFP

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What about Canada?

There was no immediate indication that Canada would get a break, even though Canada has boosted its border enforcement since Trump took office to try to avert the tariffs.

Canada has said it will retaliate with tariffs of its own.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada should expect to be in a trade war with the United States for the foreseeable future. He spoke to Trump on Wednesday evening in a call he described as "colorful."

Trudeau told reporters that talks were ongoing toward a temporary break on the tariffs.

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