WHITE HOUSE EASES TARIFFS ON CANADIAN GOODS

The White House said it will ease 50% tariffs on selected Canadian goods from 30 October, including plywood sheets, paper products, machinery and refrigeration equipment. It said new tariffs will apply to carpets and waste products. Republican Senator Susan Collins said the exemptions cover nine categories of goods and follow her lobbying for Maine’s agriculture industry. Her list includes plastic crates and bags, machinery that sorts farm products, and seaweed products for human consumption.

The tariff changes follow the collapse of US–Canada trade talks in August. The 50% levy applied to Canadian goods valued at $20bn (£15bn), according to the stated US tariff figures. President Donald Trump described the earlier tariffs as a response to what he called “unequal treatment” of US cars, dairy and alcohol. Canada introduced countermeasures, which Prime Minister Mark Carney called “necessary to protect our workers”, and later matched the US tariffs dollar for dollar.

The changes come before the 3 November midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress for the remaining two years of Trump’s term. Collins is seeking a sixth Senate term against Democrat Troy Jackson, who has campaigned on the trade dispute; Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in Michigan has also called for an end to it, citing higher prices. Trump said on Friday that Canada was working on a trade deal, while Carney said in Istanbul that Canada remained ready to negotiate in good faith. “We could sign it [a deal] this afternoon if the U.S. were there,” Carney said.