President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have agreed to pause tariffs for at least a month, just hours after Trump decided to delay tariffs on Mexico. The delay on the 25% tariffs—which could have seen tariffs on US $3 billion worth of American-bound lumber spike at 40% —came just hours after Trump and Trudeau’s second conversation.
In making the deal, Trump said Canada agreed to secure the northern border, work to combat the flow of fentanyl into the border, implement its $1.3 billion border plan and take other steps to secure the border: “As President, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of ALL Americans, and I am doing just that. I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30-day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured. FAIRNESS FOR ALL!” Trump said on Truth Social.
Trudeau, announcing the pause on social platform X, outlined Canada’s new plans, which will appoint a “Fentanyl Czar,” list cartels as terrorists, “ensure 24/7 eyes” on the U.S.-Canadian border, and launch a joint strike force with the US to take on crime, fentanyl flow and money laundering. It comes as Trump and Trudeau signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl with $200 million in funding.
Whilst Trump agreed to pause Canadian and Mexican tariffs, Wood Central understands that no decision has been made regarding whether a (further) 10% tariff on huge volumes of Chinese wooden products imported into the US will still stand. China – which trades more than US $10 billion in forest products with the United States – has already vowed to file a legal case against the US with the World Trade Organization.
In December, the Peterson Institute of International Economics reported that the global trade in timber and forest products was among the most exposed to tariffs and a trade war – with a potential trade between the US and China (the world’s largest traders of timber products) having a significant impact on the global trade of furniture, pulp and plywood products.
- To learn more about the impact of Trump’s tariff plans and its impact on the US $50 billion trade in timber products, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.