Trump Says Canada Deal 'Soon'; Some Tariffs Lifted — SkimNews
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- Trump told a campaign rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday, October 25, 2026, that a U.S.-Canada trade agreement would be reached "pretty soon," nine days before the November 3, 2026 midterms.
- Canada, Trump said, is "willing to give us anything at this moment," while he accused the country of "ripping off the United States for years."
- Trump imposed new tariffs after U.S.-Canada trade talks broke down in August 2026, covering about $20 billion worth of goods, ranging from hockey sticks to cement.
- Canada retaliated with tolls on an equivalent amount of American products, and Trump answered with another round of levies of as much as 50% on certain goods.
- White House removed some of those levies on Friday, October 23, 2026, in response to a request from Senator Susan Collins, who represents the border state of Maine, disproportionately affected by the trade war.
- Susan Collins's Senate seat is a Democratic target in the party's attempt to win Senate control from Republicans in the November 3, 2026 midterms.
- Trump has imposed wide-ranging tariffs on friend and foe since the start of his second term, saying they had been taking advantage of the United States, and has explicitly tied some threatened tariffs to political or foreign policy objectives.
Why it matters: The White House already softened the tariffs once, on October 23, after Maine's Susan Collins — whose border state bears a disproportionate share of the trade war — asked. Democrats are now targeting Collins's seat, so Trump's "pretty soon" promise lands nine days before a Senate fight his party is trying to hold.
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