President Donald Trump waves while departing after speaking during a campaign rally at McMorran Place Sports and Entertainment Center, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Port Huron, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
| Photo Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson
A trade agreement between the United States and Canada would be reached “pretty soon,” President Donald Trump told a campaign rally on Sunday (October 25, 2026), nine days ahead of crucial U.S. midterm elections.
Tensions between the North American neighbours have been high since trade talks broke down in August 2026, with Mr. Trump imposing a slew of new tariffs in response.
“We’ll have that settled pretty soon. They’re willing to give us anything at this moment,” the President said of an agreement, during the rally in Port Huron, a Michigan town on the U.S.-Canada border hit hard by his tariff war. Mr. Trump once again defended his levies on Canada, and accused it of “ripping off the United States for years.”
The tariffs enforced after the August talks broke down affected about $20 billion worth of goods, ranging from hockey sticks to cement. In response, Canada imposed tolls on an equivalent amount of American products, leading Mr. Trump to retaliate with another round of levies of as much as 50% on certain goods.
The White House removed some of them on Friday (October 23, 2026), in response to a request from Senator Susan Collins, who represents the border State of Maine, which has been disproportionately affected by the trade war. Democrats are targeting Ms. Collins’s seat in their attempt to win control of the Senate from the Republicans, in next Tuesday’s (November 3, 2026) midterms.
Since the start of his second term, Mr. Trump has upended the global trade order by imposing wide-ranging tariffs on friend and foe, saying they had been taking advantage of the United States. He has also explicitly tied some threatened tariffs to political or foreign policy objectives.
Published – October 26, 2026 12:06 pm IST
