Commerce secretary says US likely to meet Canada and Mexico ‘in the middle’ on tariffs

CITYnews halifax / By The Associated Press

After U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs rattled the economy, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the United Sates will likely meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle” with an announcement coming as soon as Wednesday.

Lutnick told Fox Business News that he has been on the phone with Canadian and Mexican officials after Trump on Tuesday imposed 25% tariffs on the countries, including 10% import taxes on Canada’s energy products such as oil and electricity.

Lutnick said the tariffs would not be paused but that Trump would reach a compromise.

“I think he’s going to figure out, you do more and I’ll meet you in the middle in some way,” Lutnick said. “We’re going to probably be announcing that tomorrow.”

Canada responded with immediate countermeasures. It is imposing 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of American products, with the levy set to expand to cover another $125 billion in U.S. goods in 21 days.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said Canada will challenge U.S. tariffs through the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) process and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico will respond to the new taxes with its own retaliatory tariffs. Sheinbaum said she will announce the products Mexico on Sunday. The delay might indicate that Mexico still hopes to de-escalate Trump’s trade war.