Canada and US reach provisional trade deal as 50% tariff deadline looms

With hours to spare before 50% tariffs were set to slam roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on August 18 to announce a provisional trade deal between the US and Canada. The catch: nobody outside the negotiating rooms seems to know what’s actually in it. The announcement buys both countries exactly three days to finalize the paperwork. What we know, and what we don’t The tariffs in question were invoked under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. They would have hit a broad swath of Canadian exports to the US, including autos, steel, aluminum, and dairy products. The value of goods affected ranges between $20 billion and $28 billion, depending on the estimate. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been at the center of high-level discussions aimed at preventing the tariffs from taking effect. Canadian officials had previously pushed back against US proposals on tariff reductions, security cooperation, and energy access, finding earlier versions insufficient. Trump’s announcement also floated the potential revival of the Keystone XL pipeline. Its inclusion signals that energy infrastructure remains a bargaining chip in the bro...