- Nissan halted American exports of three models to Canada amid 25% tariff dispute.
- Canadian-spec Pathfinder, Murano, and Frontier production reportedly ended in May.
- The company is awaiting a US-Canada trade deal, which is expected later this month.
Following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, President Trump has turned his attention back to tariffs. As part of this effort, he’s threatening several countries – including Japan and South Korea – with higher tariffs starting on August 1.
Amid all this turmoil, Nissan has decided to pause some U.S. exports to Canada. That’s a blow to the Trump administration, which has been encouraging U.S. production and exports of American-made goods.
More: Subaru Pulls Canadian Production From US As Trump’s Tariffs Deal A Heavy Blow
However, Auto News reports production of the Canadian-spec Pathfinder, Murano, and Frontier stopped in May. Ahead of the move, the company built up inventories to help weather the ‘storm.’
Nissan Americas Chairman Christian Meunier said the move was prompted by Canadian counter-tariffs on American-made vehicles. As you may recall, Canada imposed a 25% tariff on non-CUSMA-compliant vehicles imported into Canada from the United States on April 9. The country also applied a 25% tariff on non-Canadian and non-Mexican content of CUSMA-compliant vehicles imported into Canada from America.
A quick search reveals Nissan still has many affected models in inventory, as there are 447 Muranos and 246 Pathfinders at Canadian dealerships. However, the supply of Frontiers is running low as Cars.ca only lists 99 new models in stock.
That being said, the company is awaiting a US-Canada trade deal and hopes one comes soon. However, if a deal isn’t reached, Nissan is still in a good position as Meunier noted “80% of the product[s] we sell in Canada are not affected by the tariff because they’re coming from outside the U.S.” This includes the popular Rogue, Kicks, and Sentra.
Unfortunately, Infiniti isn’t as lucky as their best-selling QX60 crossover is made in America. Given its importance, Infiniti will import “limited volumes” starting late this summer. They’ll then continue to “evaluate our production going forward as the tariff situation unfolds.”
While only time will tell what happens, Bloomberg recently quoted U.S. ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, as saying “we have a great win-win” on our hands once everything gets wrapped up. A deal is expected to be reached by July 21, although specifics are hazy.
