By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks ended the week higher after President Donald Trump postponed tariffs for a month on Canada and Mexico.
While investors focused on tariffs, stocks mostly fell for most of the week until Trump's announcement on Thursday.
Under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the US, which had already started to impose a 25% tariff on products imported from Canada and Mexico, declared that vehicles entering would be excluded from the tariffs for one month.
But Trump said Friday he may implement reciprocal tariffs on Canadian dairy products and lumber as soon as later in the day.
“Canada has been ripping us off for years on tariffs for lumber and for dairy products -- 250, nobody ever talks about that, 250% tariff, which is taking advantage of our farmers. So, that’s not going to happen anymore,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “They’ll be met with the exact same tariff unless they drop it, and that’s what reciprocal means.”
While concerns that tariffs could increase inflationary pressures continued, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that the Fed is in no hurry to change monetary policy while Trump's policies cause uncertainty.
He said that while there have been significant changes to trade, immigration, fiscal and regulation policies, especially trade, uncertainty around those areas remains very high.
“Despite elevated levels of uncertainty, the US economy continues to be in a good place,” he said. “We do not need to be in a hurry, and are well-positioned to wait for greater clarity.”
On the macroeconomic data side, the US economy added 151,000 jobs in February, below forecasts.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% from January's 4%.
The US foreign trade balance posted a $131.4 billion deficit in January, marking its highest-ever and also exceeding estimates.
The Dow rose 0.52%, or 222.64 points, to end the day at 42,801.72.
The S&P 500 added 0.55%, or 31.68 points, to 5,770.20, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7%, or 126.97 points, to 18,196.22.
Meanwhile, the VIX Index, also known as the “fear index," fell 6.03% to 23.37.