With a new round of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump expected to hit Canada next week, the White House says some sectors could be spared again – at least for now.
Speaking on background to CTV News, a White House official says tariffs on certain industries might not come into effect on April 2, as Trump has threatened.
“Obviously POTUS has talked a lot about sectoral tariffs, but we may have sectoral tariffs on April 2 and we may not,” the official said in an email to CTV News. “No final decisions have been made yet on sectoral tariffs being tacked onto reciprocal for April 2 timeline.”
The possibility of excluding sector-specific tariffs next month was first reported by Bloomberg News on the weekend, followed by The Wall Street Journal on Monday.
Trump has promised to levy global reciprocal tariffs on April 2, but specifics on those tariffs or what countries will be impacted have yet to be provided.
Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the Trump administration is leaning toward applying a single, tailored tariff rate for each country – and that it’s open to negotiation.
“What’s going to happen on April 2, each country will receive a number that we believe represents their tariffs. So for some countries, it could be quite low, for some countries it could be quite high,” Bessent said in an interview on Fox News.
Speaking to reporters on Monday — following the announcement that automaker Hyundai will build a new steel plant in Louisiana — and asked whether some sectors may be exempt from the April 2 reciprocal tariffs, Trump said what’s currently in place has been “very good,” and he’ll be “announcing some others.”
“I may give a lot of countries breaks, but it’s reciprocal,” he also said. “But we might be even nicer than that. You know, we’ve been very nice to a lot of countries for a long time, but I call it ‘Liberation Day.’ April 2 is ‘Liberation Day.’”
The president also said he believes reciprocal tariffs will “be bringing some of the money back that’s been taken” from the U.S., adding he’s being “nice” by using that word, instead of “stolen,” which “professional politicians” don’t like.
When asked whether on April 2 he’ll stack sector tariffs onto reciprocal tariffs, Trump said: “It’s going to be everything. But not all tariffs are included that day.”
April 2 is also the day the current one-month exemption for levies on auto imports from Canada and Mexico to the U.S. will expire.
Trump’s latest delay to impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico that are compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) will also come to an end.
Currently, the U.S. has imposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum, prompting Canada to retaliate with similar tariffs on nearly $30 billion worth of American steel and aluminum products, along with additional imported goods.
Prior to that, Canada had slapped a 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion on U.S. goods — including items like orange juice, wine and spirits — despite the U.S. pausing its initial across-the-board levy threat back in February. The federal government has said its retaliatory measures will remain in place until the U.S. lifts all of its tariffs on Canada.
With files from CTV News' Spencer Van Dyk
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U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on trading partners are set to take effect on April 2, a day he has proclaimed as “Liberation Day” for American trade. CTV News will have extensive coverage across all platforms:
- CTVNews.ca will have in-depth coverage, real-time updates, and expert analysis on what the tariffs will mean for Canadians.
- CP24.com will report on any developments out of Queen’s Park and what the tariffs means for the people of the GTHA.
- BNNBloomberg.ca will explain what this means for the business community, investors, and the market.
