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Trump pauses Canada 50% tariffs hours before deadline after last-minute talks
Developing
What we know
Less than two hours before new 50% U.S. tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian imports were set to take effect, President Donald Trump said late Aug. 18 that he was pausing the duties for three days because the countries had a deal “subject to the finalization of documents.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney described substantial progress with important work still ahead. Sector-level terms remained incomplete in AP and NBC accounts that night.
What's confirmed
- Trump’s Truth Social post announced the three-day pause tied to document finalization.
- AP and NBC reported Carney’s confirmation of a short postponement while talks continue.
- The threatened package covered about $20B of Canadian goods under Section 338 authorities announced in July.
What's still developing
- Whether final documents are signed before the pause ends.
- Concrete tariff outcomes for autos, dairy, and alcohol.