Overview
- Canada has temporarily suspended counter-tariffs on goods in sectors such as food processing, health, and national security for six months.
- The pause, outlined on May 7 in the Canada Gazette, is intended to help Canadian companies adjust supply chains and reduce dependence on U.S. suppliers.
- Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne emphasized that 70% of Canada's retaliatory tariffs, amounting to C$43 billion, remain active.
- The measures were a response to the U.S. imposing 25% general and sector-specific tariffs on Canadian imports, some of which have been suspended pending negotiations.
- Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the government, claiming tariffs were quietly reduced to near zero, a claim Champagne denied as false.