Article content continued

“But it could be a part of NAFTA.”

Trump also tweeted that steel and aluminum tariffs would only come off if a new NAFTA is signed, suggesting the tariffs could now be a leverage play to squeeze Canada and Mexico in the trade negotiations.

However, it remains unclear from Trump’s evolving message just how serious a plan that might be — whether it really is a calculated power play, an effort to calm his own jittery party that these tariffs are temporary, or simply a poorly planned trial balloon destined for imminent deflation.

Just last week the president made clear he viewed the tariffs as permanent, casually announcing levies of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum, then adding that they were “unlimited,” for an “unlimited period” and “for a long period of time.”

Now he’s saying they could be gone in a few months, if a new NAFTA gets completed. Further adding to the confusion, the latest plot-twist risked undermining the entire legal justification for tariffs: that foreign metals present a national-security risk to the U.S.

“We will always stand up for Canadian workers and Canadian industries,” Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said on the subject of the tariffs.

“Should restrictions be imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum products, Canada will take appropriate responsive measures to defend our trade interests, and our workers.”

Washington trade consultant Eric Miller said the president may have now created a paper trail damaging his own case — by publicly suggesting that he viewed the exercise as a negotiating ploy.