President Trump, who has insisted Aug. 1 is a firm deadline for countries around the world, said that "the complexities of a Deal with Mexico are somewhat different from other Nations."

The delay of tariffs set to take effect Friday came after a phone call between President Trump and his Mexican counterpart, President Claudia Sheinbaum.

President Donald Trump extended a deadline to increase tariffs on imports from Mexico on Thursday. An increased duty of 30% was set to take effect on Friday, up from a current import tax of 25%, but Trump says he decided to delay the hike after a “very successful” call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Trump has justified tariffs on goods from Canada, the top U.S. export market, by accusing it of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl, even though U.S. government data shows Canada accounts for only 1% of the fentanyl that enters the United States.

After Canada failed to strike a trade deal with Washington, the president raised tariffs on some Canadian exports this week.

In Donald Trump’s first term as president, Japan stood out as an exception in opting not to retaliate against his tariff hikes, as the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reckoned it was better to shrug them off in favor of maintaining the broader economic and security relationship.