Top trade negotiators from Canada and the United States have met for the third day running in Washington, DC, as they try to finalise a trade deal before new American tariffs start on Saturday. Friday’s negotiations are designed to head off the 50-percent import taxes US President Donald Trump has threatened against around $20bn worth of Canadian goods. The tariffs were already paused earlier this week, and many experts say they are optimistic about another last-minute breakthrough.
Or, at most, there might be another extension with negotiations going into next week,” said Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, a nonpartisan policy think tank in Canada. But while progress has been made, any deal will not mean that the US will remove all tariffs on Canada, Nadjibulla warned in an interview with Al Jazeera. A deal could instead mark a detente in what has been 18 months of tense relations.
In 2025, early in his second term, Trump imposed tariffs on key imports from Canada, prompting Ottawa to retaliate with a suite of countermeasures. The two countries have gone back and forth ever since, with Trump periodically introducing new tariff threats. The latest round, introduced in late July, comes as a response to what Trump calls Canada’s “discriminatory treatment of American products”.
Trump has warned he will impose the new 50 percent tariff at 12:01am Eastern time ( ) on Saturday if a deal is not reached, a deadline pushed back from Wednesday. Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian minister responsible for trade with the US, did not speak to reporters as he arrived for the talks. LeBlanc met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for more than three hours on Thursday and said the two sides were “very close” to a deal, but added that more work was necessary.
Even if a deal is reached, Prime Minister Mark Carney could find it hard to sell it to Canadians and the influential premiers who lead the country’s 10 provinces and three territories, as the tariffs impact each area differently. A poll from the research firm Leger Opinion showed on Wednesday that 56 percent of Canadians do not want Carney to make any further concessions. Sources say an agreement is expected to cut the top-line tariff on Canadian-built vehicles to 15 percent from 25 percent and halve tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium to 25 percent.
Ontario, a major steel and aluminium producer, wants the tariffs scrapped. Carney is calling on major provinces to rescind their ban on sales of US alcohol, which is a major irritant for Washington. Wab Kinew, the premier of Manitoba, said on Thursday that Trump was “very weak” and Canada should take advantage.
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