Washington | President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was delaying the 50 per cent US tariffs on USD 20 billion worth of Canadian imports after the two countries reached a last-minute deal hours before the sanctions were to go into effect.

The announcement, which Trump made on his social media platform, buys time for more negotiations and avoids, for now, another strain in already tense relations between the historic allies.

"I have paused the 50 per cent Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three day period, based on the fact that Canada and the USA., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!" Trump posted on Truth Social less than two hours before the 12.01 am. Wednesday deadline.

Trump's import taxes would have hit about 5 per cent of what Canada ships to the United States every year, including products ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors.

But the political impact would likely have been bigger than the economic one. Canada had threatened to retaliate against any new tariffs with levies of its own, aggravating a trade fight between countries that sold each other USD 880 billion worth of goods and services last year.