The Trump administration emphasized that it would not completely eliminate or suspend existing tariffs. Transactions in the spot market have somewhat recovered. [SMM Tin Morning News]

SMM Tin Morning Brief on March 5, 2025: US Commerce Secretary Lutnick stated on Tuesday that the Trump administration might announce a tariff reduction pathway for goods from Mexico and Canada as early as tomorrow. In an interview with Fox, Lutnick said, "Mexican and Canadian officials have been calling me all day today, trying to show they can do better, and the President is listening. So, I think he will reach some agreements with them. It won't be something like suspending tariffs, but I believe Trump will make some compromises with them in certain areas, and we are very likely to announce this tomorrow." Lutnick mentioned that the tariffs might be set at "some middle level," with Trump making some concessions to Canada and Mexico but not fully yielding. He dismissed the idea of a complete tariff removal, referencing the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiated during Trump's first presidential term. "If you comply with those rules, then the President will consider reducing some tariffs," he said. "If you don't comply with those rules, then you have to pay the tariffs." This marks the first public indication since the tariffs were implemented that Trump might waver on this issue. What puzzled the market was that Trump had previously stated that Canada's retaliatory tariffs on the US would immediately trigger "an equivalent amount of reciprocal tariffs" from the US. In the tin ingot spot market, transactions were relatively active yesterday. Some downstream enterprises began restocking, while a few still believed there was downside room in current prices. These enterprises purchased through a post-pricing model, settling the final payment after prices dropped. Some traders reported transactions of around 10-30 mt yesterday, while a few mentioned deals of 1-2 truckloads. Overall, selling sentiment showed signs of recovery, indicating a partial rebound in market confidence.