autos

🇺🇸🇨🇦 BREAKING: Trump just offered Canada a tariff cut on cars, days after threatening tariffs three times bigger and hours from taking effect.
Bloomberg reports the Trump administration is poised to cut its 25% tariff on Canadian-built vehicles down to 15%, part of a broader deal where Canada drops its retaliatory measures on US goods entirely.
The whiplash getting here has been wild. Tuesday night, Trump paused a 50% tariff wave against Canada that was set to hit at midnight, calling it a pause, not a cancellation, and saying the two sides had reached a "deal."
The core fight wasn't really about the headline rate. It was about how "Canadian content" gets counted. Canada pushed for credit on all parts sourced under the CUSMA trade framework, meaning Mexican and Canadian components would count alongside American ones. The US held firm at a floor of 15%, rejecting Canada's push for 10% or a wider exemption.
That distinction matters enormously. A modern vehicle crosses the US-Canada-Mexico border multiple times during assembly. Under a broad North American content formula, a vehicle with 70% regional content could see its effective tariff pushed into the single digits.
The same tentative deal reportedly extends beyond autos: steel and aluminum tariffs would also get cut, down to 25% from their current levels.
Nothing is signed yet. Details are still being finalized, and daily talks between Trump officials and Canadian PM Mark Carney's team continue.
The stakes are enormous either way. Canada exports over $45 billion in vehicles annually, with 92% of that heading straight to the US market.
#Trump #Canada #Tariffs #Trade #Autos