Canada and Mexico may get some relief after Donald Trump said ‘reciprocal tariffs’ may not be as harsh as he once promised.
Trump on Monday said that a 25% tariff on oil and gas from Venezuela will be implemented on April 2, a day he claims will be ‘LIBERATION DAY IN AMERICA.’
However, when speaking to the media in the Oval Office later that day, he was more flexible on some of the other tariffs, in part to make an example of their neighboring countries and allies.
Trump said: ‘We may take less than what they’re charging because they’ve charged us so much, I don’t think they could take it.’
‘In other words, they’ve charged us so much that I’m embarrassed to charge them what they’ve charged us,’ he added, though he did not specify which countries he was considering a reversal for.
Trump said that some of his other tariffs on cars, lumber, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors may wait until later this year.
He still promised that April 2 would be ‘Liberation Day,’ as they would be taking in enough revenue to lower taxes and create jobs.
The U.S. stock market had been rebounding on Monday as investors expect the tariffs to be more targeted than they earlier feared.
Canada and Mexico may get some relief after Donald Trump said that the April 2 ‘reciprocal tariffs’ may not be as harsh as he once promised
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney may welcome Trump’s potential softening of tariffs
The S&P 500 rose 1.8%, the Nasdaq Composite a 2.3% rise and Tesla surged up 12%, continuing a bounce back that began last week, per the Wall Street Journal.
Still, the S&P 500 index is down so far this year out of concerns that a trade war could hinder economic growth and increase inflationary pressures.
Canada and Mexico have reacted angrily to the tariffs, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been trying to curb the tariffs headed his way.
On April 2, Trump is expected to fully levy 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada, the two largest U.S. trading partners.
The Republican president has also increased his 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminum to 25% for all imports and has committed to additional tariffs on autos, pharmaceutical drugs, lumber, computer chips and copper.
The US and Canada have butted heads in recent weeks over an ongoing trade war and tariffs brought in by Trump, who has consistently taken jabs at the nation and its government, sparking protests at sporting events.
Newly appointed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a withering takedown on Trump over the ongoing trade dispute.
He accused Trump of ‘trying to weaken our economy’ in his speech to a raucous room full of Liberal party voters.
The U.S. stock market had been rebounding on Monday as investors expect the tariffs to be more targeted than they earlier feared
‘Donald Trump, as we know, has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell, on how we make a living,’ he said.
‘He’s attacking Canadian workers, families and businesses. We cannot let him succeed. And we won’t.’
The stern words have made it clear that he intends to continue down former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s path of public disputes with the president.
Trump first began proposing a Canadian accession under Trudeau, who he trolled by referring to as the ‘Governor of California’.
He has imposed a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian imports as part of a drive to hold the country, ‘accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country’, a White House statement said.
Current polling suggests there is very little support among Canadians for joining the US, with around 90 percent opposed.
Trump’s taunting also sparked a number of protests against the United States from Canadian sports fans, who have chosen to express their disgruntlement by booing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ before games.
Canadians have targeted the US national anthem ahead of MLS games, WWE in Toronto and most vehemently the bitter Four Nations Face-Off clashes between the two nations in February.
President Trump has suggested that Canada should join the US amid a trade war he sparked by hiking up tariffs
Trump previously trolled former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by referring to him as ‘Governor’ of California
However, a vocal minority in Canada’s oil rich provinces buoyed by Trump’s ‘Drill Baby Drill’ approach have come out and declared themselves 51st-staters.
On Monday, however, Trump appeared to divert his attention towards Venezuela.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said Venezuela has been ‘very hostile’ to the U.S. and countries purchasing oil from it will be forced to pay the tariff on all their trade to the U.S. starting April 2.
The tariffs would most likely add to the taxes facing China, which in 2023 bought 68% of the oil exported by Venezuela, according to a 2024 analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Spain, India, Russia, Singapore and Vietnam are also among the countries receiving oil from Venezuela, the report shows.
But even the United States – despite its sanctions against Venezuela – buys oil from that country.
In January, the United States imported 8.6 million barrels of oil from Venezuela, according to the Census Bureau, out of roughly 202 million barrels imported that month.
And on Monday, the Treasury Department issued an extension for U.S.-based Chevron Corp.´s lease to pump and export Venezuelan oil until May 27.
The extension, known as a general license, exempts the country from economic sanctions and allows it to continue to pump oil.
In February, Trump had announced an end to the Chevron-Venezuela relationship, in what became a financial lifeline for the South American country.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro responded by accusing the U.S. of violating international trade rules with an ‘arbitrary, illegal and desperate measure’ designed to ‘undermine the development’ of the South American nation.
The president is arguing that tariffs will bring back manufacturing jobs, rather than worsen inflationary pressures and hinder growth as economists have warned.
His latest anecdotal evidence came Monday as Hyundai announced at the White House that it would build a $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana.
Trump said Venezuela will face a “Secondary” tariff because it is the home to the gang Tren de Aragua . The Trump administration is deporting immigrants that it claims are members of that gang who illegally crossed into the United States.