{"id":172389,"date":"2026-08-18T12:33:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/172389\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T12:33:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:33:06","slug":"the-latest-last-minute-talks-seek-to-stop-us-tariffs-on-canadian-goods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/172389\/","title":{"rendered":"The Latest: Last-minute talks seek to stop US tariffs on Canadian goods"},"content":{"rendered":"

Relations between the U.S. and Canada could deteriorate further at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if Trump goes ahead with his plan to impose 50% tariffs<\/a> on $20 billion worth of Canadian products. The two countries are seeking a truce on the new taxes as the deadline approaches.<\/p>\n

The fate of the Gaza ceasefire<\/a> remains unclear after a marathon meeting Monday between U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Officials signaled moderate optimism<\/a> but Israel offered no concrete commitment to the latest U.S.-proposed plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s decision to scale back joint military exercises<\/a> with South Korea does not just slight a longtime ally \u2014 it raises broader concerns<\/a> about the security interests of the United States in Asia and elsewhere. Trump explained his decision<\/a> by citing South Korea\u2019s refusal to join his war against Iran and pointing to what he said was his good relationship with North Korea\u2019s reclusive dictator.<\/p>\n

The Latest:<\/p>\n

Ship attacked in Hormuz strait as Iran throttles key waterway<\/p>\n

A projectile has hit a ship sailing out of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> , according to the British military\u2019s UK Maritime Trade Operations center, causing \u201ca crew casualty\u201d but no environmental damage.<\/p>\n

Iranian threats to shipping effectively closed the strait after Israel and the U.S. started the war nearly six months ago.<\/p>\n

An Iranian official said Tuesday that the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. meets Tehran\u2019s conditions, which include ending a U.S. blockade on Iranian shipping, \u201creleasing frozen assets, lifting oil sanctions (and) ending threats and military operations on all fronts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turkey urges Trump to seek a diplomatic solution to the war<\/p>\n

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Trump in a telephone call to continue to seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n

The call came late Monday as the 60-day negotiating period to find a peace deal between the United States and Iran was expiring<\/a>, with no word of an extension and both sides seemingly as far apart as they were at the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Erdogan said it is important to make maximum use of diplomacy amid tensions between Iran and the United States,\u201d according to a statement from the Turkish presidential communications office.<\/p>\n

The 60-day deadline for an Iran peace deal is expiring. Here\u2019s where things stand<\/p>\n

The deal that Trump signed at Versailles<\/a> in June set an ambitious 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran<\/a> and reaching an accord on its nuclear program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The deadline was Monday, and the two sides are further apart than they were then.<\/p>\n

Talks, such as they are<\/a>, have focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> and lifting a U.S. blockade on Iran, both of which were supposed to have happened<\/a> under the interim deal. There has been no sign of any compromise on the strait, or that detailed nuclear talks have even begun.<\/p>\n

The U.S., meanwhile, has no good options for getting out of the war it started alongside Israel.<\/p>\n

Acceding to Iran\u2019s latest demands would mean giving it control over a critical international waterway that carried a fifth of the world\u2019s traded oil and gas before the war \u2014 and would be tantamount to admitting defeat<\/a>. Escalating the deeply unpopular war<\/a> would further draw down U.S. supplies of advanced missile interceptors<\/a>, jolt the world economy, and drive up gas prices ahead of U.S. congressional elections.<\/p>\n

So both sides have dug in, hoping the other will blink first. So far, neither has.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s slight of South Korea in favor of the North raises broader US security concerns<\/p>\n

Trump on Sunday ordered the U.S. military to downsize the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which began Monday as scheduled. It wasn\u2019t known which parts of the training were being scaled back.<\/p>\n

His announcement baffled many in South Korea, which has been closely allied with the U.S. for decades and where national security is a top priority due to threats from nuclear-armed North Korea.<\/p>\n

Trump explained his decision<\/a> by citing South Korea\u2019s refusal to join his war against Iran and pointing to what he said was his good relationship with North Korea\u2019s reclusive dictator, a transactional and personal approach to foreign policy that has defined the Republican\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no American interest that I can see in this,\u201d said Dan Fried, an assistant secretary of state for European affairs in the George W. Bush administration. \u201cOn all levels it makes no sense. It undermines the South Koreans, undermines the Japanese, frightens the Taiwanese, unnerves NATO and emboldens the Chinese, not to mention the North Koreans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Long meeting produces optimism but no Israeli commitment to US plan for Gaza<\/p>\n

A marathon meeting Monday between U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left the fate of the Gaza ceasefire<\/a> unclear, with officials signaling moderate optimism but offering no concrete commitment by Israel to the latest U.S.-proposed plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hamas has already agreed to the proposal<\/a>. American negotiators appeared to acquiesce to Israeli demands that Hamas disarmament must come before any reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian enclave. They did not publicly signal that Israel had made any commitments to withdraw from the 60% of Gaza that Israeli troops currently occupy.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a major sticking point in the plan and one that Hamas had pressed negotiators to compel Israel to fulfill prior to the meeting. The talks came days after Netanyahu rejected<\/a> the 15-point, U.S.-backed road map<\/a> to move the ceasefire deal forward, saying there would be no withdrawal without disarmament.<\/p>\n

A day earlier, Kushner met for two hours with Hamas\u2019 leader<\/a> in Egypt.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Last-minute talks over 50% US tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian goods<\/p>\n

The United States and Canada have wrangled for decades over trade, poking each other interminably over sore spots like Canadian softwood lumber imports and U.S. access to Canada\u2019s protected dairy market.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s belligerent approach to dealing with Canada marks an extraordinary departure from the traditionally cooperative relationship between the two countries. Trump has hit Canadian goods with tariffs \u2014 in a push to bring manufacturing back to the United States \u2014 and has repeatedly made inflammatory comments about turning Canada into America\u2019s 51st state.<\/p>\n

Tension could hit new heights at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if Trump goes ahead with his plan to impose 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products, ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors.<\/p>\n

As the deadline approaches, the two countries are seeking a truce that would avoid the new round of tariffs.<\/p>\n

\u2033We are negotiating,\u201d Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Monday, speaking in French. \u201cThe negotiations are very intense and delicate. This is not the time to talk about negotiations in public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Relations between the U.S. and Canada could deteriorate further at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if Trump goes ahead with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[21711,55025,162,55024,38397,111,113,3942,5996,218],"class_list":["post-172389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mark-carney","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-dan-fried","tag-donald-trump","tag-george-w-bush","tag-jared-kushner","tag-mark-carney","tag-politics","tag-u-s-news","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}