President Donald Trump announced a deal to end US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico that had created friction between the neighborsWASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday announced a deal to lift US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico that had created friction between the neighbors and blocked a new North American free trade agreement. Canada and Mexico initially were exempted from the tariffs Trump enforced using a national security argument, as part of his hardline trade tactics. "Obviously these continued tariffs on steel and aluminum and our countermeasures represented significant barriers to moving forward with the new NAFTA agreement," he said, referring to the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. Some key members of the US Congress had said they would not agree to vote for the three-country free trade pact unless the Trump's metals tariffs ended. US tariffs on steel and aluminum from Europe remain in place, as does the EU retaliation.

Source: Bangkok Post May 17, 2019 19:41 UTC