US Delays 50% Tariff on Canada by 3 Days; LandSpace's Zhuque-3 Achieves China's First Orbital-class Booster

US-Canada trade negotiations took a turn shortly before the tariff was to take effect. About two hours before a 50% tariff on Canadian goods was due to be imposed, President Trump announced a three-day delay. Trump said the two sides had reached an agreement, while Canadian Prime Minister Carney said talks had made substantial progress. The trade friction began on July 20, 2026, when Washington announced a 50% tariff on hundreds of specific Canadian imports, and bilateral negotiations have since faced repeated obstacles. The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a cornerstone of North American trade, also came under strain; in July 2026, Trump announced he would not renew the pact, citing, among other things, the complex US-Canada trade friction.

The same day, LandSpace's Zhuque-3 RMB 2 carrier rocket lifted off at 7:35 a. m. , delivering the Honghu-03 satellite into its intended orbit. The rocket's first stage then returned to Earth and successfully soft-landed at a recovery pad in Minqin, Gansu province. This marked China's first land recovery of an orbital-class rocket's first stage. Recovery technology still needs to overcome several technical hurdles before achieving reuse and commercial application, with the industry currently in a validation phase.