News CANADIAN NEWS August 19, 2026
Trump Administration Postpones Tariffs on Canada for 3 Days
The 50% levies on approximately $20 billion worth of goods were scheduled to go into effect on Aug. 19. A tentative deal has been reached since they were first announced in July.
Key Takeaways
• President Trump has paused the threatened 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods for three days as the U.S. and Canada work to finalize a tentative trade agreement.
• While details remain limited, talks have touched on market access for U.S. goods, Canadian retaliatory tariffs, dairy, alcohol, critical minerals, defense purchases and potentially the Keystone XL Pipeline.
• Even if the agreement is finalized, the two countries, along with Mexico, still face negotiations over the future of the USMCA.
Canada is getting a tariff reprieve. Maybe.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced late Tuesday, Aug. 18, on Truth Social that a tentative trade pact with Canada was close to being signed and, as a result, the 50% tariffs on an estimated $20 billion worth of Canadian goods is now postponed for three days while the agreement is finalized.
“I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada,” President Trump wrote in the post, “based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!”
President Trump did not provide additional details on what the agreement contained, though he did mention the Keystone XL Pipeline in the post. The planned extension to the existing Keystone Pipeline, which moves oil between Canada and the U.S., has been in the works since 2015. In 2021, in reaction to environmental concerns, former President Joe Biden signed an executive order to revoke the permit initially granted for project completion. Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order to restart the expansion on a different route.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney was more reserved in his announcement on X of a possible agreement. “Substantial progress has been made, although there is important work still to be done,” Prime Minister Carney said in the statement. “While we continue this work, Canada remains focused on building a stronger, more independent and more competitive economy at home.”
U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer said on X “the deal will include comprehensive market access for all American goods, economic security commitments, digital trade alignment and many important provisions that will continue to protect our market and American workers, along with our Canadian partners.”
It’s been a busy 30 days of trade negotiation between the two countries after President Trump announced the potential 50% levies on a slew of products, including some previously declared tax-free under USMCA, the revamped NAFTA. Reports suggest the U.S. has demanded that Canada abandon retaliatory tariffs on American cars, alter how it issues dairy supply licenses and return American alcohol to store shelves. In the defense sector, the Trump administration is asking for right of first refusal over critical Canadian minerals and wants Canada to purchase U.S.-made radar planes as part of the Golden Dome missile defense system.
Part of the ongoing conversations has also involved concessions – reduced levies on Canadian metal, lumber and car parts in exchange for the U.S. opening up Canadian access to goods such as dairy products.
The U.S., Canada and Mexico are also preparing for renewed talks about the future of the USMCA after the Trump administration announced this summer that it wouldn’t be renewing it. Next comes annual reviews of the agreement until the official expiration date of 2036.