Trump pushes tariffs into allies
- U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on April 17 that Canada’s trade strategy “suck[s]” and called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada pact a bad deal. - Trump had already widened tariffs on April 2, using Section 232 to tighten steel and aluminum duties and expand them to copper. - The July 1, 2026 USMCA review now opens under sharper strain after new metals tariffs and public attacks on Ottawa. (congress.gov)
Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, used a Washington conference on April 17 to attack Canada ahead of the July review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact. (cbc.ca) (semafor.com) Lutnick said Trump sees the current agreement, known in Canada as CUSMA and in Washington as USMCA, as “a bad deal” that should be “reimagined.” He also mocked the idea that Ottawa could wait out U.S. political pressure, saying: “They suck.” (cbc.ca) (semafor.com) The timing matters because the pact’s first mandatory joint review begins July 1, 2026. Under the agreement, the United States, Canada and Mexico must decide whether to extend it, revise it, or let annual reviews continue toward a 2036 expiry. (congress.gov) Trump had already pushed tariffs beyond China on April 2, signing a Section 232 proclamation that tightened the U.S. metals regime and added copper articles and derivatives to the list. Customs and Border Protection published implementation guidance the next day. (whitehouse.gov) (content.govdelivery.com) The Tax Policy Center said those April 2 moves reworked steel, aluminum and copper tariffs while also adding separate pharmaceutical duties of as much as 100 percent. Its estimate put the average U.S. tariff rate at 10 percent and the 2026 household burden at about $1,050 per tax unit. (taxpolicycenter.org) Canada answered publicly. Prime Minister Mark Carney said on April 22 that Canada is “not a supplicant” and would not let Washington dictate the terms of the USMCA review. (reuters.com) (apnews.com) The clash is landing while importers are still dealing with the fallout from an earlier court defeat for Trump’s broader tariff program. The administration opened a portal this month to refund $166 billion in duties after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. (nytimes.com) (finance.yahoo.com) That leaves North American trade talks in an unusual place: the White House is refunding one set of tariffs while hardening others against close trading partners. By July 1, the same administration will be sitting down to review the continent’s main trade deal. (taxpolicycenter.org) (congress.gov)
