Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will meet with his U.S. counterpart in Washington on Wednesday morning for more talks about a possible deal to avoid tariffs and smooth over bilateral trade irritants.
LeBlanc will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer around 11:15 a.m. ET, a spokesperson for the minister said.
These latest talks come a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was pausing for three days the threatened 50 per cent tariffs on nearly $30 billion worth of Canadian goods, saying there had been a breakthrough in the negotiations.
According to the text of the proclamation Trump signed, the U.S. is backing down because “Canada has expressed a commitment to remove discriminations or unreasonable and unequal impositions” related to American autos, dairy and liquor. That is a reference to the retaliatory measures Ottawa has taken since Trump first launched his trade war last year, as well as Canada’s supply-managed dairy sector.
Where do Canada-U.S. trade negotiations stand? Here’s a sector-by-sector breakdown
Trump said on social media late Tuesday there is a “deal” with Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney, meanwhile, said in his own statement there had been “substantial progress” but that “there is important work still to be done.”
“While we continue this work, Canada remains focused on building a stronger, more independent, and more competitive economy at home.”
Trump pauses 50% tariffs, saying new trade deal reached
Greer, for his part, posted on social media congratulating Trump and touting an agreement he said includes “comprehensive market access for all American goods, economic security commitments, digital trade alignment” and “many important provisions that will continue to protect our market and American workers.”
The details of what exactly has been brokered — if anything — are scant.
Neither side released any documents stating what each country could give up in return for some concessions.
Beyond Greer’s assertion that there will be changes to some Canadian policies, Trump alluded to a possible revival of the Keystone XL pipeline, a long-defunct project that could carry oil from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Trump already signed an executive order in April authorizing the construction of a similar cross-border pipeline.
Trump signs order to revive parts of cancelled Keystone XL pipeline
The Americans have long demanded U.S. liquor be put back on the shelves of provincially run stores, ending a boycott that has been devastatingly effective. The Trump administration is also pushing for Canada to remove its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. autos and to change how the supply-managed dairy sector allocates quotas.
LeBlanc, meanwhile, has pushed for the U.S. to scrap the threatened 50 per cent levies, called the Section 338 tariffs. He also wants the country to lower the existing Section 232 fees on industrial products like steel, aluminum, autos and lumber.
Carney said his government is working on a deal that will “address outstanding trade issues and deliver greater certainty and real benefits for Canadian businesses, workers, farmers, and families.”
