The announcement comes one day after Carney and Trump spoke on the phone.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a press conference after a cabinet meeting to discuss both trade negotiations with the Unite States and the situation in the Middle East, at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on July 30, 2025. Dave Chan/AFP via Getty Images
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada will remove some retaliatory tariffs on the United States as a goodwill gesture designed to resume stalled trade talks. The announcement came one day after Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the phone.
Carney made the announcement on Aug. 22 alongside cabinet members, saying Ottawa will remove all retaliatory tariffs on American products that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Canadian tariffs on U.S. automotives, steel, and aluminum will remain for now.
Canada imposed 25 percent tariffs on a long list of American goods in March, including oranges, alcohol, clothing and shoes, motorcycles and cosmetics, in response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian products.
The United States raised tariffs further on Canada from 25 percent to 35 percent beginning on Aug. 1, citing illicit drugs continuing to flow over the shared border, as well as Canada’s retaliatory measures. Trump had previously said that countries that did not impose retaliatory tariffs on the country would be “rewarded.”
The 35 percent tariffs apply to Canadian goods not covered under the USMCA. The United States has also applied 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, 25 percent tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, and 10 percent tariffs on energy and potash.
Carney and Trump held a phone call on Aug. 21, the first time they had done so since the trade deal deadline passed. Carney said the two had a “productive and wide-ranging conversation.”
“We focused on trade challenges, opportunities, building a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the U.S., and supporting long-term peace and security for Ukraine nd Europe,” he said.
Matthew Horwood is a reporter based in Ottawa.