Carney will announce the sweeping policy shift Friday after a cabinet meeting, removing 25% tariffs on a vast range of US consumer goods that comply with the North American trade agreement. The move represents a stunning about-face for Canada, which had been one of the few countries to aggressively punch back against President Donald Trump’s protectionist agenda.
The tariff rollback will spare American-made products like orange juice, wine, clothing and motorcycles from the steep import taxes that have been in place since March. The relief applies to roughly $21.7 billion worth of US goods. The dramatic policy reversal comes just one day after Carney and Trump spoke by phone, marking their first publicly acknowledged conversation in weeks.
Sources say the move is designed to ease tensions with the White House while positioning Canada for the upcoming review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement expected to begin in coming months. The shift marks a sharp departure from the combative approach Carney championed during his successful election campaign, when he promised to inflict “maximum pain” on the US through aggressive retaliation. That tough-guy rhetoric helped propel Carney to victory over former Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Party leader, in the recent election.
