Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc speaks at a press conference while Prime Minister Mark Carney listens on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 19.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc speaks at a press conference while Prime Minister Mark Carney listens on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 19.
Donald Trump’s tariff war with Canada is escalating with new measures from the U.S. and retaliatory responses from Canada. Here’s what’s in effect
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for the U.S.-Canada trade file, told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that he was “disappointed” about the White House’s decision to hike tariffs to 35 per cent. However, he also said he came away from talks with U.S. officials with a “better understanding” of American concerns, describing the conversations as “informative, constructive and cordial.”
While hopeful that a tariff-cutting deal is still possible, he acknowledged Canada and the U.S. are not yet close to a final agreement.
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“We’re not yet where we need to go to get the deal that’s in the best interest of the two economies,” the minister said about his discussions with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer.
The White House confirmed that tariffs on Canadian goods which don’t comply with the
LeBlanc was in Washington last week attempting to secure a deal with the Trump administration ahead of Friday’s deadline. He added that he expects Carney to talk with Trump “over the next number of days,” while LeBlanc will continue talks with Lutnick and Greer.
“We think there is an option of striking a deal that will bring down some of these tariffs (and) provide greater certainty to investment,” LeBlanc said. “We think there is a great deal to work on together.”
On top of Friday’s new 35 per cent tariffs, Canada remains hit by U.S. duties on steel, aluminum, automobiles and a new 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper.
Washington partly tied the latest tariffs to Canada’s alleged failure to curb fentanyl smuggling, despite Carney noting Canada accounts for just 1 per cent of U.S. fentanyl imports and saying the country is working to drive that number down.
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