White House lifts tariffs on some Canadian goods as midterm elections loom

The Trump administration is lifting some of its 50% tariffs on Canadian goods two weeks before the midterm elections, after a Republican candidate in a key Senate race said she had lobbied for the change.

Starting on 30 October, tariffs will be eased on products including "plywood sheets, some paper products, certain machinery and refrigeration equipment," the White House said on Friday.

Republican Senator Susan Collins, who is in a tight race to keep her seat in Maine, first announced the exemptions, saying they would help her state's agriculture industry.

The US imposed a 50% levy on $20bn (£15bn) of Canadian goods after trade talks between the two countries collapsed in August.

Canada has imposed a series of countermeasures against US tariffs, which Prime Minister Mark Carney said were "necessary to protect our workers".

Last month, Carney matched the US tariffs "dollar for dollar" after the breakdown in talks. Trump had imposed them for what he called "unequal treatment" of US cars, dairy and alcohol.

The White House said while tariffs would be lifted from some items, including some packing crates and boxes, they would be introduced on other items such as carpets and "waste products".

It said the action reflected President Trump's "continued efforts to defend American workers and ensure fair trade".

"President Trump continues to address Canada's discriminatory treatment of US commerce," White House spokesman Matthew Middleton said.

In a statement to the BBC, Canada's internal trade minister Dominic LeBlanc said: "While we assess these latest steps, Canada stands ready to work constructively and in good faith towards a more mutually beneficial trading relationship that respects Canada's interests."

The White House's announcement comes less than a fortnight before the US midterm elections, which will determine whether Trump's Republican Party or Democrats will control Congress, impacting the remaining two years of his term.