Trump tariffs updates: US pauses levies on some Canadian, Mexican products

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To find out more about President Trump’s tariffs and how they are set to affect the global economy, watch this video.

And to learn more about the widening rift between Canada and the US, check out this article here.

To follow all of our updates on the Trump administration, read on here.

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of today’s key events:

• President Trump has announced a one-month reprieve from 25-percent tariffs for goods covered under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
• Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing will “resolutely counter” US pressure but added there is still “space for cooperation”, as US tariffs on China remain in place.
• US stocks continued to take a sharp dive amid ongoing uncertainty over the tariffs, with the benchmark S&P 500 dropping 1.78 percent on Thursday.
• The US is planning to charge fees for any ship that is part of a fleet that includes Chinese-built or Chinese-flagged vessels, Reuters reported, citing a draft executive order.
• New York’s attorney general and representatives from 19 other Democrat-led states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its mass firing of federal workers.
• US District Judge Amir Ali has ordered the Trump administration to make payments to some foreign aid contractors and grant recipients by 6pm (23:00 GMT) on Monday.

As we have been reporting, on Thursday, President Trump handed Mexico and Canada a temporary exemption from tariffs that had taken effect earlier this week.

Trump announced that goods covered under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will be exempt for one month. The move aims to ease trade tensions but leaves uncertainty about Washington’s long-term tariff policies.

Al Jazeera’s John Holman reports from Mexico City:

Speaking on the sidelines of China’s annual parliamentary meeting on Friday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said “if one side blindly exerts pressure, China will resolutely counter that”.

The Trump administration imposed additional 10 percent tariffs on Chinese imports to the US this week, adding to 10 percent tariffs it imposed in February, citing China’s alleged failure to crack down on the fentanyl trade.

“The abuse of fentanyl is an issue that the US has to solve itself,” Wang said, adding that both countries still have “broad common interests and space for cooperation”.

Wang continued that the US “should not repay kindness with grievances, let alone impose tariffs without reason”, as he pointed to Beijing’s cooperation over the fentanyl issue.

“No country can imagine that it can suppress China on one hand while developing good relations with China on the other hand,” Wang added.

New York’s attorney general and representatives from 19 other Democrat-led states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its mass firing of federal workers.

The lawsuit – the first entry by states into the legal fight over Trump’s efforts to slash federal bureaucracy – was jointly filed in a Maryland federal court with states including California, Arizona and Colorado.

It alleges that the Trump administration violated laws and regulations as it laid off tens of thousands of federal workers by failing to notify them in advance and firing them without justification.

“The Trump administration’s illegal mass firings of federal workers are a slap in the face to those who have spent their careers serving our country,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

President Trump sees many European countries as extensions of the Democratic Party abroad, and thus his “adversaries”, argues Ed Luce, the US national editor at the Financial Times.

Luce tells Al Jazeera’s Steve Clemons that the string of European leaders “bringing fruits to the volcano” in Washington will not be able to change Trump’s views on Ukraine or Europe in general.

“America now sees the world as a jungle,” he said. The power vacuum left by the US will usher in “a dangerous time … when you have the revenge of geopolitics, the return of history,” Luce added.

Watch below:

President Trump’s ever-shifting tariff policies fanning uncertainty, combined with increased concern about domestic growth prospects, means the US dollar has fallen 0.05 percent against six major rivals.

On Thursday, Trump said he was imposing a one-month reprieve from 25-percent tariffs for goods covered under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, as he backtracked amid fears of a domestic economic downturn.

US stock markets have also tumbled since Trump took office on January 21, with the S&P 500 dropping more than 4 percent, while the Nasdaq has slumped more than 7 percent.

The US is planning to charge fees for any ship that is part of a fleet that includes Chinese-built or Chinese-flagged vessels, the Reuters news agency reports, citing a draft executive order.

The draft, seen by Reuters on Thursday but dated February 27, says the Trump administration will push its allies to do similar or face retaliation.

Fees should be imposed on any vessel entering a US port, “regardless of where it was built or flagged, if that vessel is part of a fleet that includes vessels built or flagged in the PRC [People’s Republic of China]”, according to the draft.

President Trump is aiming to resuscitate US domestic shipbuilding and weaken China’s grip on the global shipping industry.

“The national security and economic prosperity of the United States is further endangered by the People’s Republic of China’s unfair trade practices in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors,” it added.

As we have been reporting, EU leaders convened an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday to address rising security concerns and the need for increased military budgets.

Discussions also focused on continued support for Ukraine, as the Trump administration recalibrates its stance on European allies while seeking improved relations with Russia.

Al Jazeera’s James Bays reports:

Trump has signed an executive order declaring March “Irish-American Heritage Month”.

The order continues an annual tradition that began with former US President George HW Bush in 1991 and was carried on by each of his successors.

“They’re a great people,” Trump said as he signed the order in the Oval Office. “And they voted for me in heavy numbers, so I like them even more.”

“You have to like it,” Trump added. “You know, you’re not supposed to, but you have to like that.”

“This Irish-American Heritage Month, we commemorate the special bond of friendship between the United States and Ireland.”

Today, @potus declared March to be Irish-American heritage month across the U.S. 🇮🇪🇺🇸

🔗 https://t.co/g9yx2hRDTz pic.twitter.com/4he3xM9eF8

— Embassy of Ireland, USA (@IrelandEmbUSA) March 7, 2025

President Trump has signalled he intends to move forward with plans to dismantle the Department of Education, despite mixed signals from his administration.

“Well, I want to just do it. I mean, we’re starting the process,” Trump said at a signing ceremony in the Oval Office on Thursday.

A directive to wind down the Department of Education was expected to be among the orders Trump signed on Thursday.

But in the hours leading up to the Trump’s public appearance in the Oval Office, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denounced reports of an announcement as “more fake news”.

Still, Trump has made no secret of his intention to shutter the Department of Education, a point he revisited on Thursday. Reporters had asked if he had any “second thoughts” that would lead to a delay, something the president refuted.

“ We’re trying to get the schools back into the states. Let the states run the schools,” Trump said, misrepresenting the department’s functions.

Read more here.

As we have been reporting, European Union leaders met for a defence summit in Brussels on Thursday to discuss Washington’s recent pause of aid and intelligence to Ukraine.

At that summit, the European leaders backed previously agreed plans to spend more on defence and expressed their solidarity with Ukraine amid uncertainty around the Trump administration’s support for Kyiv.

“Today we have shown that the European Union is rising to the challenge, building the Europe of defence and standing with Ukraine shoulder to shoulder,” Antonio Costa, the meeting’s chairman, told reporters.

As we previously reported, on Wednesday European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen presented a five-part plan to mobilise some 800 billion euros ($841bn) for Europe’s defence and to help provide “immediate” military support for Ukraine.

US stocks have taken another sharp dive amid ongoing uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs.

The benchmark S&P 500 dropped 1.78 percent on Thursday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 dived 2.79 percent.

The latest tumble continues a tumultuous period for markets amid Trump’s back-and-forth moves on tariffs.

In his latest announcement on Thursday, Trump said he would delay his 25 percent tariffs on many goods imported from Mexico and Canada until April 2.

Since Trump took office on January 21, the S&P 500 has dropped more than 4 percent, while the Nasdaq has slumped more than 7 percent.

Trump has signed an executive order to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile, his crypto tsar has announced.

David Sacks said the reserve will be made up of Bitcoin seized by the government as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.

“It is estimated that the US government owns about 200,000 bitcoin; however, there has never been a complete audit. The EO [executive order] directs a full accounting of the federal government’s digital asset holdings,” Sacks said.

“The US will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value. The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold’.”

Sack said that a separate digital assets stockpile will consist of forfeited digital assets other than Bitcoin.

“The purpose of the Stockpile is responsible stewardship of the government’s digital assets under the Treasury Department,” he said.

During his election campaign, Trump closely courted the crypto industry and pledged to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet”.

Just a few minutes ago, President Trump signed an Executive Order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

The Reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. This means it…

— David Sacks (@davidsacks47) March 7, 2025

We have been reporting on President Trump’s change of course, as he suspended 25 percent tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico on Thursday.

The suspension will not be applied retroactively, the Reuters news agency reports, citing an unnamed White House official.

Trump’s order suspending the duties takes effect at 12:01am Eastern Time on Friday (05:01 GMT).

Automaker officials said they have been informed that tariffs paid on any vehicles or parts shipped between Tuesday and Thursday from Mexico or Canada into the US will not be refunded.

Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold elections and claimed the comedian-turned-politician would be heavily defeated if he went to the people.

“Ukraine needs to hold an election. Zelensky would lose by a landslide,” Musk said on X while sharing claims, reported by Politico, that Trump administration officials have met with some of the Ukrainian leader’s top political opponents.

Musk’s broadside comes after Trump claimed last month that Zelenskyy, who suspended elections after declaring martial law in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, had a 4 percent approval rating.

In a poll published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology last month, 57 percent of respondents said they trusted Zelenskyy, while 37 percent said they did not.

Ukraine needs to hold an election.

Zelensky would lose by a landslide. https://t.co/P8e2NFOqYs

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2025

French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his country’s commitment to NATO’s common defense clause after Trump questioned whether its members would come to the aid of the US.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels after a meeting of EU leaders, Macron said France was a “loyal and steadfast ally”.

“We have always been there for each other,” Macron said, adding that France had shown “respect and friendship” to the US and was “entitled to ask for the same thing”.

France participated in NATO’s military operation in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks, which resulted in the alliance invoking the Article 5 defence guarantee for the first, and so far only, time in its history.

Emergency services in the city of Kryvyi Rih in southern Ukraine struggled to rescue wounded individuals from a hotel destroyed by a Russian Iskander ballistic missile on Wednesday.

Ukrainian, British and American volunteers staying at the hotel survived the strike – which marked the second such attack in the city – as the suspension of US military aid and intelligence sharing raises fears of weakened air defences.

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reports now from Kyiv:

The head of an office that safeguards federal government workers from wrongful dismissal and retaliation has dropped a legal bid to keep his job after he was fired by Trump.

Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), announced the decision after an appeals court in Washington, DC, halted a lower court’s decision to block his dismissal and affirmed Trump’s right to keep him sidelined as legal proceedings played out.

In a statement published by multiple media outlets on Thursday, Dellinger expressed his concern that the harm faced by workers reliant on a future special counsel allied with Trump “could be immediate, grievous, and, I fear, uncorrectable”.

“This new ruling means that the OSC be run by someone totally beholden to the President for the months that would pass before I could get a final decision from the US Supreme Court,” Dellinger said.

“I think the circuit judges erred badly because their willingness to sign off on my ouster – even if presented as possibly temporary – immediately erases the independence Congress provided for my position, a vital protection that has been accepted as lawful for nearly fifty years.”

Dellinger’s case had been closely watched as a test of Trump’s authority to lay off officials who enjoy some independence from the executive branch.