Here are five things you need to know this morning

Trump flip-flop: Another unexpected twist on the tariff front yesterday afternoon, as U.S. President Trump exempted Mexican and Canadian goods covered by the North American trade agreement. The 25 per cent tariffs are being delayed until April 2. Products that meet United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) requirements are among the products exempt from the tariffs – though it is a complicated just which goods are covered by this exemption. Canadian potash used heavily in fertilizers for U.S. agricultural producers faces a lower 10 per cent duty. This is in line with the lower tariff rate Trump placed on energy and critical minerals imports from Canada. In response, Ottawa says it won’t proceed with a second rounds of tariffs on some $125-billion worth of U.S. goods – though Canadian tariffs on around $30-billion worth of U.S. goods, imposed earlier this week, will remain in place. Trump says he plans to push ahead with 25-per-cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, scheduled to take effect next Wednesday, and will move forward with “reciprocal” tariffs against all other countries on April 2.

Markets jolted: North American stock markets absorbed sharp losses yesterday, in part due to the tariff confusion. Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 1.2 per cent, while the U.S. S&P 500 Index fell 1.78 per cent. U.S. stocks are on pace for their worst week since September 2024 … however there may be some relief on the way. After the bell yesterday chipmaker Broadcom gave a stronger-than-expected sales estimate for its current quarter. The forecast seemed to re-assure investors that spending on artificial-intelligence technology remains robust.

Jobs reports on deck: Investors will be closely watching this morning’s jobs reports in Canada and the U.S. Economists are expecting the Canadian economy to have added net 20,000 jobs in February, which would be a big slowdown from January’s pace. It’s a different story in the U.S. – job creation is expected to increase there, with a forecast of 160,000 jobs added.

Couche preparing for renewed 7-Eleven push: Bloomberg News Montreal Bureau Chief Mathieu Dion has been leading coverage of Quebec convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard’s quest to acquire the parent company of 7-Eleven. This morning Dion reports that Couche-Tard has held exploratory discussions with buyers for any U.S. stores that would need to be divested to secure regulatory approval for a potential takeover of Seven & i Holdings. Couche-Tard executives, including founder and chairman Alain Bouchard, will visit Tokyo next week to try and advance the discussions.

‘Elbows up’ investing: And as investors consider what to do in light of all the tariff turmoil, former BNN Bloomberg staffer Dale Jackson is offering some succinct expert advice in a column at BNNBloomberg.ca. It’s titled: ‘Elbows up’ investing will keep your retirement portfolio from becoming a trade war casualty … and it is a worthy read for any investors wondering how to adjust to all of the current uncertainty.