Canada’s Minister for Trade signals deal may miss deadline if terms don't meet standards for Canadian workers and economy
The United States plans to impose a 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods starting August 1, with no extensions, according to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
He confirmed on Fox News Sunday that “August 1, the tariffs are set. They’ll go into place. Customs will start collecting the money, and off we go.”
As per BNN Bloomberg, US President Donald Trump told reporters Friday, “We don’t have a deal with Canada,” adding, “we haven’t really had a lot of luck with Canada. I think Canada could be one where they’ll just pay tariffs. It’s not really a negotiation.”
His administration has already sent a formal letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney threatening the 35 percent levy, targeting goods not covered under the existing Canada-US-Mexico Agreement.
Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s Minister for Trade with the United States, said Thursday in Washington that Ottawa remains committed to reaching an agreement, but may go beyond the deadline to secure better terms.
“Canadians expect us to take the time necessary to get the best deal we can in the interest of Canadian workers,” LeBlanc said outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building. “We are only going to be in a position to accept a deal when the prime minister decides that it is the best deal we can get.”
As reported by CTV News, the White House has excluded compliant imports under the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement from the tariff threat.
However, the broader set of duties — including on steel, aluminium, automobiles, and copper — is expected to take effect August 1.
Ottawa has already responded to earlier tariff threats, which Trump linked to fentanyl trafficking, by bolstering border enforcement and appointing a “fentanyl czar.”
The federal government also paused its digital services tax and recently introduced measures to prevent steel dumping from China.
Canadian Ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman said Canada’s actions are being noticed.
“The measures that Canada has taken on steel in particular... are some of the strongest in the world,” she said, adding they have been “recognized and very much appreciated” by US officials.
Hillman joined LeBlanc in meetings this week with US Commerce Secretary Lutnick and Republican senators including Kevin Cramer, Roger Marshall, Shelley Moore Capito, Todd Young and Tim Scott.
LeBlanc described his meeting with Lutnick as “productive and cordial” and said discussions also included border security and defence.
He told BNN Bloomberg that American lawmakers expressed a “desire to see more stability and predictability in the relationship with the United States.”
Despite Trump’s insistence that mailed tariff letters are “essentially a contract,” he acknowledged negotiations have continued even after letters were sent to countries like Japan and the EU.
Trump said those nations “came back and negotiated a deal.”
Canada has yet to reach similar terms.
LeBlanc confirmed he would return to Washington next week to continue discussions.
Trump has said the US will consider lowering tariff rates only if countries open their markets to US goods.
He recently announced trade frameworks with Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan — all of which agreed to levies above the new 10 percent base rate introduced in April, though below the higher thresholds initially threatened.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who visited Ottawa last week, said “we would all like to get to a better place with our trade relationship with Canada,” but acknowledged that reaching a deal before the deadline is unlikely.
“I wish that I could say, ‘It feels good,’ that this is all going to be taken care of before the first of August, but I’m not sensing that,” she said.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on Trump’s recent statements when asked by CTV News.
