U.S. President Donald Trump has paused sweeping 50% tariffs on Canadian goods for three days after announcing Canada and the United States reached a last-minute trade deal that still requires final documentation. Prime Minister Mark Carney said "substantial progress" had been made but stressed that important work remained unfinished. Trump also suggested the cancelled Keystone XL pipeline could be revived, although he did not say whether it forms part of the agreement.The tariffs had been scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday on approximately $28 billion worth of annual Canadian exports. Carney said Washington had agreed to postpone their implementation until the end of Friday, August 21, while negotiations continue. “I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three day period, based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!” Trump wrote Tuesday night.“The great Keystone XL Pipeline, long ago killed by Sleepy Joe Biden, may be awoken from the grave! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”.Carney issued a more cautious statement Wednesday stopping short of describing the negotiations as a completed deal. "Over the last number of weeks, Canada has engaged in intensive discussions with the United States to address outstanding trade issues and deliver greater certainty and real benefits for Canadian businesses, workers, farmers and families," Carney said. "Substantial progress has been made, although there is important work still to be done. As this work is ongoing the United States has agreed to postpone the implementation of its 50% tariffs on a range of Canadians goods under section 338 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930 until end of day, August 21st." "While we continue this work, Canada remains focused on building a stronger, more independent, and more competitive economy at home." Carney did not identify the outstanding issues, disclose any concessions made during the negotiations or address Trump's suggestion that Keystone XL could be revived.Details of the agreement, including any concessions made by either government, were not immediately released.Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government had not publicly confirmed the terms of the deal as of late Tuesday evening.Keystone XL was designed to carry as much as 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day along a 1,947-kilometre route from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect with pipelines supplying American refineries.Former U.S. president Joe Biden revoked the project’s presidential permit on his first day in office in January 2021. TC Energy formally terminated the project that June following a review conducted with the Alberta government.Carney previously raised the possibility of reviving Keystone XL during talks with Trump in October 2025. Any renewed project would require a proponent, regulatory approvals and the reconstruction of commercial arrangements abandoned after its cancellation.Tuesday’s announcement marked a sudden reversal from the position conveyed by the White House earlier in the day.Edward Lawrence, a White House correspondent for Fox News, reported that a White House official confirmed Trump spoke with Carney Monday night but said the conversation had not produced a resolution that would cause Trump to delay the tariffs.Carney told reporters Monday that negotiations were “very intense and delicate” and declined to discuss Canada’s proposals publicly.The new tariffs would have affected about 5% of Canadian exports to the United States.Trump signed three proclamations in July imposing the duties under Section 338 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930. His administration accused Canada of discriminating against American automobiles, alcoholic beverages and dairy products.The targeted products extended well beyond those sectors.Canadian exports facing the 50% duties included dairy ingredients, honey, wine, spirits, cement, wood and paper products, plastics, packaging, clothing, furniture, industrial machinery, electronics, cosmetics and sporting goods such as hockey sticks and skates.Energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals were excluded.The three-day pause does not automatically remove the separate American tariffs already affecting Canadian steel, aluminum, softwood lumber and automobiles. Whether those duties will be reduced or withdrawn under the emerging agreement remains unclear.Conservative Canada-U.S. relations critic Shuvaloy Majumdar said Monday that Canadians wanted a durable agreement that would remove both the threatened tariffs and existing duties.“We have grown tired of seeing our country used as a punching bag,” Majumdar said.“Yet we share a common hope that Prime Minister Carney will deliver a genuine win at the negotiating table.”Majumdar said 2.6 million Canadians rely on trade with the United States and pointed to layoffs, lost shifts and economic uncertainty affecting forestry, automobile, steel and aluminum workers.Trump’s announcement gives negotiators three more days to complete the documents and disclose what Canada and the United States agreed to.
