Negotiators press on in Washington hours before new 50 percent US duties take effect
WASHINGTON: Canada’s lead negotiator Dominic LeBlanc said late on Friday that a trade deal with the United States had not been finalized, with hours left before a midnight deadline when steep new tariffs were due to come into force. “We have more work to do. We’re going to continue working up until the last minute. Our job is not finished,” LeBlanc told reporters as he left the office of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer after hours of talks.
US President Donald Trump had threatened to impose new duties of 50 percent on a range of Canadian products by Wednesday, the latest move in months of trade hostility, but issued a last-minute delay, citing significant progress in the negotiations. Canadian officials have spent the week in Washington trying to complete an agreement reported to address several points of friction.
LeBlanc arrived with his team at Greer’s office after midday on Friday and left at about 7:30 pm (2330 GMT). The two men had also met for around three hours on Thursday. His comments followed Trump’s remark that the United States “should be able to have a deal with Canada”, citing his “good relationship” with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Canada is seeking relief from US tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, which have hurt its economy, cost jobs and strained a trade relationship that was once among the closest in the world. Details of the proposed agreement emerged this week after Carney briefed the leaders of Canada’s provinces and territories. Tariffs are expected to be reduced in some areas but not removed entirely, with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe telling reporters there was no going back to the pre-Trump “status quo”.
Trade lawyer at King & Spalding Ryan Majerus told AFP that Washington’s apparent willingness to reduce the sector-specific tariffs “dramatically increases the potential of a deal”. “I think both sides want an off-ramp here,” Majerus said, adding that Ottawa was “under tremendous pressure” to get the tariffs removed and that the public may be unhappy with the outcome.
Canada’s opposition Conservative Party was already on the offensive on Friday, with leader Pierre Poilievre saying “one-sided tariffs on Canadian industry would be a bad deal”. He added: “Tell me how the Canadian company is supposed to compete against an American company when only our guy pays the tariff.”
Canada’s regional leaders said Washington had been particularly irritated by one retaliatory measure: the removal of US alcohol and wine from liquor stores. Carney asked the provinces on Wednesday to restock American products. Some agreed publicly, while others were more hesitant. Quebec Premier Christine Frechette said she wanted to study the deal first, and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew told reporters Trump appeared “weak” and suggested Canada should “fight”. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, one of Trump’s most prominent critics during the trade war, has so far said nothing. Ford controls the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, one of the largest single purchasers of US alcohol products.
Carney has repeatedly said relations with the United States have changed permanently, whatever the outcome of any individual deal, and that Canada must diversify and reduce its reliance on a neighbor that accounts for roughly 70 percent of its exports. Beyond the current talks, the two countries have still to agree revisions to the North American free trade pact, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which Trump declined to renew last month. — AFP