Canadian officials are applauding a U-S decision to drop a contentious border tax proposal -- even suggesting the move signals an open-mindedness in the Trump administration on open borders and free trade.
A border adjustment tax system had been considered in order to pay for lower U-S tax rates overall without blowing a hole in the American budget.
But U-S officials now say they are ``confident'' such a system is no longer needed to reduce broader tax rates.
From the moment the border adjustment tax was floated early this year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and other Canadians voiced concerns to key U-S officials.
During a March visit to Washington, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said he found a lot of opposition to the idea of a border tax because it would not be in the interests of Canada and the United States in the energy market.
Critics of the idea warned it would have provoked a trade war, international sanctions and hiked the cost of American imports.