Canada is also looking for relief on Section 232 tariffs on Canadian autos, lumber, steel and aluminum
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OTTAWA – Canada and the U.S. are “not even close” to a deal to alleviate existing tariffs and the Carney government is now focused on salvaging negotiations with an agreement solely to prevent sweeping new American border levies as of next week.
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Three senior federal or provincial government sources told National Post that despite frequent meetings between the Canadian and American negotiating teams and the Damocles’ Sword of new sweeping U.S. tariffs in days, both teams are “very far apart” on a deal.
Now, the sources say, the Canadian side is refocusing its efforts to find an “interim” deal to prevent sweeping new tariffs on Aug. 19.
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If that’s not possible, the Carney government is considering ways to financially support industries most harshly impacted by the new targeted tariffs.
To date, the negotiations for the federal government have largely two-pronged: alleviate Section 232 tariffs on Canadian autos, lumber, steel and aluminum that range from 10 per cent to 50 per cent, and prevent nearly $30-billion-worth of new tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods on Aug. 19.
But two sources, who were granted anonymity to discuss details of the private negotiations publicly, said the Canadian team is now focusing on preventing the imminent tariffs. One source said the Americans made it clear that this time, there would be no delaying their entry into force beyond the 19th.
In the last three weeks, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette have met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer four times over the last several weeks, sparking hope that the Americans were genuinely interested in striking a new trade deal.
But their tone was far from optimistic on a series of briefing calls Friday with provincial premiers and the federal government’s Advisory Committee on Canada-U.S. Economic Relations, two sources said.
