A Second Reprieve: Avoid Trump’s IEEPA tariffs on Canadian and Mexican Goods for Another Month

In deference to the needs of the domestic auto industry, the White House has announced a mitigation on the IEEPA tariffs against Mexico and Canada through two executive orders issued Thursday, March 7.

The IEEPA tariffs that went into effect on March 4, 2025 and subject all goods from Canada and Mexico to a 25% tariff (except in the case of Canadian energy products, subject to an additional 10%), may be waived on items from Canada or Mexico claiming special duty-free treatment under the US-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA). Additionally, imports of potash from both Canda and Mexico that do not qualify for USMCA have a reduced additional tariff rate to 10%.

In order to avoid the IEEPA tariffs, importers claiming USMCA on their Canadian and Mexican products will have to report tariff code 9903.01.14 (Canada) or 9903.01.04 (Mexico), which do not have an additional tariff rate. Otherwise, US Customs will apply the 25% IEEPA tariffs 9903.01.10 (Canada) or 9903.01.01 (Mexico).

Potash will be taxed at an additional 10% with the following tariffs: 9903.01.15 for Canada and 9903.01.05 for Mexico.

The President has stated this situation will remain applicable for USMCA imports for 30 days, and specifically mentioned a deadline of April 2 for Mexico; however, it is notable that a terminating date is cited neither in US President Trump’s March 6 Executive Orders nor in US Customs’ notices in the Federal Register. Given the uncertainty, US importers should not rely on the reprieve to last any more than did the prior one month reprieve issued by the White House after the initial February implementation.

Using executive powers, the President can prescribe or revoke trade sanctions in a matter of hours. Allyn International’s service suite includes consultation on current and developing issues in the US trade community. Reach Allyn here for a consultation or, contact us sales@allynintl.com or 239-489-9900.

Contributor: Andrew Dosher

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