WASHINGTON, D.C.\u00a0\u2014 US and Canadian negotiators raced against the clock Friday to reach a trade deal before a midnight deadline when punishing new US tariffs are set to kick in.<\/p>\n
In the latest salvo amid months of trade hostility, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose new 50-percent duties on a range of Canadian products by Wednesday. But he issued a last-minute delay, citing major progress in trade talks.<\/p>\n
Hours before the new deadline, Trump said the US “should be able to have a deal with Canada,” citing his “good relationship” with Prime Minister Mark Carney.<\/p>\n
Canadian negotiators have been camped out in Washington this week trying to finalize a deal that reportedly aims to address a range of flash points.<\/p>\n
Both sides have said a pact is nearly done, but talks were continuing Friday, with top Canadian negotiator Dominic LeBlanc meeting US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.<\/p>\n
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By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Canada wants relief from Trump’s tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, which have battered Canada’s economy, forced job losses, and strained what was once an iron-clad trade relationship.<\/p>\n Details of the proposed agreement emerged this week after Carney briefed the leaders of Canada’s provinces and territories.<\/p>\n US tariffs will likely be reduced in certain areas, but not removed entirely, with Saskatchewan’s conservative Premier Scott Moe telling reporters there’s no going back to the pre-Trump “status quo.”<\/p>\n Ryan Majerus, a trade lawyer at King & Spalding, told AFP that Washington’s apparent willingness to reduce the sector-specific tariffs “dramatically increases the potential of a deal.”<\/p>\n “I think both sides want an off-ramp here,” Majerus said, while noting that Ottawa was “under tremendous pressure” to get tariffs removed and the public may be unhappy with the outcome.<\/p>\n Canada’s opposition Conservative Party was already on the offensive Friday, with its leader Pierre Poilievre saying “one-sided tariffs on Canadian industry would be a bad deal.”<\/p>\n “Tell me how the Canadian company is supposed to compete against an American company when only our guy pays the tariff,” Poilievre said.<\/p>\n Booze ban<\/p>\n Canada’s regional leaders said the United States has been particularly irritated by one retaliatory measure: the removal of US alcohol and wine from liquor stores.<\/p>\n Carney on Wednesday asked the provinces to restock US booze.<\/p>\n Some publicly agreed, but others voiced hesitance.<\/p>\n Quebec Premier Christine Frechette said she wanted to study the deal before agreeing to anything, while Manitoba’s left-wing Premier Wab Kinew told reporters Trump appeared “weak” and suggested Canada should “fight.”<\/p>\n Ontario Premier Doug Ford, one of Trump’s most prominent critics during the trade war, has so far stayed quiet.<\/p>\n Ford controls the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, one of the largest individual purchasers of US alcohol products.<\/p>\n Carney has repeatedly told Canadians that relations with the United States have been forever changed, regardless of what happens with an individual trade deal.<\/p>\n He says the country needs to diversify and reduce its reliance on the United States, which currently accounts for roughly 70 percent of Canadian exports.<\/p>\n Beyond the ongoing negotiations, the United States and Canada still have to agree on revisions to the North American free trade agreement, USMCA, which Trump declined to renew last month.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON, D.C.\u00a0\u2014 US and Canadian negotiators raced against the clock Friday to reach a trade deal before 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