Canada to Get Duty Concessions on Steel, Alum and Auto from US Trade in Negotiations

[ABS News Service/20.08.2026]

The US is likely to lower tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and automobiles as part of a trade framework being devised by the nations, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Though the deal hasn’t been finalized, the US is considering a plan to lower tariffs on steel and aluminum from 50 percent to 25 percent, and decrease top-line tariffs on automobiles from 25 percent to 15 percent, the people said. They cautioned that terms of the deal could change before any official announcement, and details are still being worked out.

The moves would come as part of a trade deal between the countries that President Trump announced on Tuesday night, less than two hours before a separate set of tariffs on Canada was scheduled to take effect early Wednesday. He said that the imposition of 50 percent tariffs on some $20 billion worth of Canadian goods would be paused for three days while negotiations continued.

Canadian officials have made lowering tariffs on sectors such as steel, aluminum, lumber and automobiles a priority in those trade negotiations and a condition for the country making concessions on US demands. But the nations have so far released no official details on how US tariffs will change under the agreement.

It remains unclear how the new U.S. tariffs will account for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Under that deal, automakers are given deductions from the 25 percent tariff for the US content in their vehicles, significantly lowering the overall tariff on automobiles that comply with the USMCA.

Steel imports from Canada could face a quota system, said some of the people familiar, and tariffs on imports that exceed the quota would be higher. Aluminum isn’t likely to face a quota under current considerations, they said.