The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Aug. 13, edition that Canadian officials are mulling a proposal to accept United States auto tariffs of 10 to 15 per cent and eliminate retaliatory levies on American-made cars. The Globe's Adrian Morrow and Marieke Walsh write that the U.S. would also keep a tariff exemption on American content in cars exported from Canada.
A Canadian source mentioned that the 10- to 15-per-cent figure was a U.S. proposal, while Ottawa suggested a broader exemption covering the full value of car content made in Canada, the U.S. or Mexico. Such a deal would mean Canada agreeing to U.S. tariffs on a marquee industry while Ottawa would impose none of its own. The upside for Canada is that the tariffs would be lower than the current 25-per-cent tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum and forest products. Canadian officials are hunkered down in the U.S. capital, rushing to meet the Aug. 19 deadline to make a deal, after which President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 50-per-cent tariffs on another $20-billion (U.S.) worth of Canadian exports. But even as the contours of an agreement on steel and aluminum came into view last week, auto proposals remained murky.
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