Trump rolling out big trade tariffs

Mexico, Canada temporarily exempt

After a week of hints and uncertainty, President Donald Trump said Thursday he would announce tariffs on imported steel and aluminum but with temporary exemptions for Canada and Mexico as he seeks to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement. He suggested Australia and “other countries’’ might also be spared, a shift that could soften the international blow amid threats of retaliation by trading partners.

Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will take effect in 15 days, with Canada and Mexico indefinitely exempted from the duties, according to people outside the White House who were briefed on the plans Thursday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the president’s signing of the orders.

“We’re going to be very fair, we’re going to be very flexible but we’re going to protect the American worker as I said I would do in my campaign,’’ Trump said during a Cabinet meeting.

The president reiterated that he would levy tariffs of 25 per cent on imported steel and 10 per cent on aluminum but would “have a right to go up or down depending on the country and I’ll have a right to drop out countries or add countries. I just want fairness.’’

The president indicated Canada and Mexico’s treatment would be connected to the ongoing NAFTA talks, which are expected to resume in early April.

The people briefed on the plans said all countries affected by the tariffs would be invited to negotiate with the Trump administration to be exempted from the tariffs if they can address the threat their exports pose to U.S. manufacturers. The people said the exclusions for Canada and Mexico could be ended if talks to renegotiate NAFTA stall.

The process of announcing the penalties has been the subject of an intense debate and chaotic exchanges within the White House, pitting hard-liners against free trade advocates such as outgoing economic adviser Gary Cohn aiming to add more flexibility for U.S. trading partners.

The fight over tariffs comes amid intense turmoil in the West Wing, which has seen waves of departures and negative news stories that have left Trump increasingly isolated in the Oval Office, according to two senior officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal thinking. Trump was still hearing last-minute pleas from opponents of the tariff plan, and White House officials said they couldn’t predict how the day would shake out.