Reports differ on exactly which products are covered. Lists of the exempted goods include corrugated paper, plastic boxes, packing crates, agricultural machinery, and fresh and dried seaweed, and one count puts the relief at nine categories. The new tariffs, imposed under Section 338, cover carpets, certain valves and waste products such as sewage sludge and municipal waste. Some reports say they also reach cocoa powder, paints, shampoos, archery equipment, canoes, wooden coffins, ice cream sticks, air-conditioning machines and chest freezers.

White House spokesperson Matthew Middleton described the action as "further refining the scope" of tariffs already announced. He said the administration would keep addressing "Canada's discriminatory treatment of US commerce."

Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who is in a tight re-election race against Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, said she had "secured" the exemptions for products that matter to Maine's blueberry, potato, apple and seaweed producers. She credited private negotiations with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Collins said the goods were "essential" to Maine businesses and farms because they are "either unavailable from American suppliers or cannot be replaced without incurring significant expense," and pointed to blueberry growers who rely on Canadian-made harvesting boxes.

Jackson called the exemptions "Trump's desperate, 11th-hour attempt" and said Collins had "enabled this chaos." In his words, "Trump's trade wars have made life harder and more expensive for Mainers." Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, criticized what he called the administration's "toxic tariff policies."

Collins is not the only Republican to push back. In Michigan, Senate candidate Mike Rogers has broken with Trump on tariffs and is running ads calling for an end to the trade war, saying "Canada is not our enemy." In Kansas, Trump dropped a threatened ban on Bombardier, the Canadian jet maker that employs 1,500 workers in Wichita, after calls from Republican Senator Roger Marshall.

Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's minister responsible for U.S.-Canada trade, said his government "takes note of these recent tariff measures" and "remains ready to work together in a constructive and good-faith manner." Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded to the partial relief: "Now get rid of the rest."

The dispute started in August, when talks between the two countries broke down and Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian imports, around 5.5 percent of Canada's exports to the United States. In September Canada retaliated with tariffs of 15 to 50 percent on $20 billion in U.S. goods. Earlier U.S. tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum and lumber have cost Canadian jobs and slowed growth, and Canada entered a technical recession this year after two straight quarters of contraction. About 70 percent of Canadian exports go to the United States.

At a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday, Trump said Canada "very much wants to make a deal" and that tariffs had "made us rich." He also claimed Canada makes $90 billion a year from the United States, a figure that is disputed: the United States runs a $48.3 billion surplus with Canada in trade in services. In Istanbul the same day, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada was "in no rush" and added, "We could sign it this afternoon if the U.S. were there." He also said Canada was willing to deal with another administration.

A lawsuit challenging Trump's tariffs has been filed in U.S. court.