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 US Senate race said she had lobbied for the change.

From 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) worth of Canadian goods after trade talks between the two countries collapsed in August.

Canada has imposed a series of countermeasures in response to the 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 car, dairy and alcohol exports.

The White House said that, 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 US President Donald Trump's "continued efforts to defend American workers and ensure fair trade".