US leader plans to offer a 30-day exemption to Canada, Mexico

WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday raised the possibility that impending hefty US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could exclude a clutch of countries other than Canada and Mexico as US President Donald Trump planned to authorize the measures on Thursday.

Trump was expected to sign a presidential proclamation establishing the tariffs during a ceremony scheduled for 3:30 pm on Thursday, a source familiar with the situation said. Officials were working to include language in the tariffs that would give Trump the flexibility to approve exemptions for certain countries.

The tariffs would impose a duty of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum to counter cheap imports that he says undermine US industry and jobs.

The tariffs would not go into effect immediately, with a twoweek implementation period required under the statute that gives the president authority to impose the measures. That could give countries or companies a chance to submit input and try to sway the administration’s actions, according to the people familiar

Action that does not include exemptions risks retaliatory tariffs on US exports — not least by Canada and Europe — and complicates already tough talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trump said on Monday that Canada and Mexico would only be excluded after the successful renegotiation of NAFTA.

But a White House official said on Wednesday night that Trump plans to offer Canada and Mexico a 30-day exemption from the planned tariffs, which could be extended based on progress in NAFTA talks.

The departure of Trump’s chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, who was seen as a bulwark against Trump’s economic nationalism, clears the way for greater influence by