Bloomberg exclusive, people familiar: tentative deal would lower Canadian steel and aluminum tariffs to 25% and non-US auto content to 15%. Friday deadline. Mexico wants comparable relief.
The tentative US-Canada trade deal would lower tariffs on certain Canadian steel and aluminum exports to 25% and cut duties on the non-US content in Canadian auto exports to 15%. That is Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, 19 August, updated 4:44 p.m. PDT. Details have yet to be finalized. They are not expected to apply across the board.
Steel and aluminum now face a 50% rate. The move under discussion would generally halve those levies. Different rates could apply to some derivative products. Auto tariffs on non-US content would fall to 15% from 25%. Talks continued Wednesday after Trump paused planned 50% levies on billions of dollars of Canadian goods. The metals and autos changes could help unlock a lasting deal before a Friday deadline.
Trump on Wednesday, asked if he would reduce tariffs on Canadian metals: “We’re looking at that. We may bring some of the tariffs down to a level where other countries are because Canada was paying a higher tariff.”
A second Bloomberg piece, 20 August, says Canada’s draft piles pressure on Mexico to match those terms. A Mexican official familiar with the matter said several Canadian concessions address the same metals and autos sectors Mexico has raised. Mexico’s economy ministry declined to comment.
Mexican officials say about 85% of US-bound exports still enter duty-free under USMCA. Vehicles, steel and aluminum remain on sector-specific US tariffs. President Claudia Sheinbaum has shunned retaliation. The US and Mexico held three bilateral rounds from May through July. This is a tentative draft. It is not a signed deal.
The three-day pause is already live.
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Written and fact-checked with AI assistance, reviewed by a human editor before publication.
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