US, Canada reach trade deal to avert steep tariffs, Trump says

What the report says

US President Donald Trump said the United States and Canada reached a trade deal that would prevent a sharp new tariff from hitting Canadian exports. The announcement came shortly before a 50 percent duty was scheduled to begin at midnight, giving the two sides a last-minute reprieve after weeks of strained negotiations.

According to Al Jazeera, Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held talks on Tuesday to try to find common ground. The duties would have affected about $20.2bn worth of Canadian goods, including electronics, industrial machinery, furniture, dairy products and wine. Trump said on Truth Social that the agreement was still “subject to finalization of documents,” but he did not release the terms.

Trump appeared to connect the breakthrough to efforts involving the Keystone XL Pipeline, a long-contested oil project intended to move crude between Alberta and Nebraska. The pipeline was previously blocked in the US after a permit was revoked in 2021. As reported by Al Jazeera, the pipeline mention suggests trade and energy issues remained tied together in the negotiations, though the exact link between the deal and the pipeline was not explained.

The development matters because it temporarily eases a major trade dispute between two close North American partners and avoids an immediate hit to a wide range of Canadian exports.