Trump delays tariffs on Mexico. Lutnick says Canada may also get a delay, but talks continue

CNN — President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a nearly one-month tariff delay on all products from Mexico that are covered by the USMCA free trade treaty, a significant walkback of the administration’s signature economic plan that has rattled markets, businesses and consumers.Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also said Thursday that Trump will likely announce later in the day a one-month delay on all Canadian tariffs. But negotiations were ongoing and it remained unclear whether a deal would ultimately be accomplished, a senior Canadian government source told CNN.“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday, after a phone conversation with the Mexican president. He said the tariffs would be delayed until April 2. The USMCA is the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, negotiated by Trump during his first term, that makes the three North American countries a free trade zone.“I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl,” Trump added. “Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!”Sheinbaum, in a post on X, thanked US President Donald Trump for a “respectful” discussion about the tariffs he imposed.Sheinbaum said that “virtually all” of Mexico’s trade with the United States is included in the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.“Practically all the trade we have with the United States is within the Mexico, United States, Canada Agreement. There is a part that has to do with rules of origin, but everything is practically within the trade agreement,” Sheinbaum said at a news conference Thursday.Canada deal remains up in the airIn an interview with CNBC earlier Thursday, Lutnick said tariffs on all treaty-compliant products from Canada, most of which were hit with a 25% tariff Tuesday, will probably be paused. Lutnick said they will go into effect on April 2 unless Mexico and Canada show significant progress in fighting what the Trump administration has called an epidemic of fentanyl crossing the border to the United States.