WASHINGTON (Reuters)
The White House on Friday said it welcomed a report that Canada would remove many retaliatory tariffs on US goods as a goodwill gesture designed to restart stalled trade talks.
"We welcome this move by Canada, which is long overdue. We look forward to continuing our discussions with Canada on the Administration's trade and national security concerns," a White House official said.
Canada is set to announce on Friday that it is removing many retaliatory import tariffs on US goods as a goodwill gesture designed to restart stalled trade talks, a source familiar with the matter said.
Canadian tariffs on US autos, steel and aluminum will remain for now, said the source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to give a press conference at noon Eastern Time (1600 GMT) on Friday.
The news helped the Canadian dollar extend its gains and by 11:05 a.m. it was up 0.5% at C$1.3837 to the US dollar, or 72.27 US cents.
Canada has been holding talks with the United States on a new economic and security relationship for months but the two sides are not close to a deal.
Carney spoke to Trump on Thursday for the first time since June and held what his office called a productive conversation.
Carney's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Canada would be dropping counter tariffs against goods that are compliant with the trilateral US-Mexico-Canada trade deal, the source said.