Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canada's chief negotiator Janice Charette are meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington Friday as the clock ticks down on the latest tariff deadline.
LeBlanc and Charette made no comments to reporters waiting outside Greer's office as they arrived shortly after noon. Mark Wiseman, Canada's ambassador to the United States, was also on-hand for the meeting.
U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat on $28 billion worth of Canadian goods is set to take effect just after midnight, unless officials are able to finalize a trade agreement.
In July, Trump said he would impose a new 50 per cent tariff on a wide range of Canadians goods in retaliation for Canada's booze bans, auto tariffs and quotas on tariff-free access for U.S. dairy.
They were set to come into effect just after midnight Wednesday, but that deadline was pushed back until Saturday to allow time to turn the agreed-upon deal into a legal agreement.
LeBlanc and Charette have met with Greer in Washington several times this month to hammer out the deal.
LeBlanc told reporters on Thursday that the two sides were "very close" to a deal. The content of that agreement, however, has not been shared publicly.
The agreement is expected to address U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, lumber and autos. It's also expect to address some U.S. concerns about limited access to Canada's dairy market, as well as Canada's retaliatory tariffs on autos and provincial bans on U.S. alcohol imports.
"Canadians expect us to get a deal that's in the economic interest of Canada and Canadian workers," LeBlanc said as he left Greer's office Thursday.
Canada's premiers said Prime Minister Mark Carney in a briefing on Wednesday asked them to put U.S. booze back on the shelves as part of the deal. Many said Thursday they were open to ending their provincial bans.
Several premiers have indicated a willingness to comply, but not all.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province was the biggest importer of U.S. alcohol, has yet to comment publicly on the latest proposal. Quebec Premier Christine Frechette said Thursday after a call with Carney that she's weighing how the deal could play out for her province.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Friday he is concerned about rumours Carney "might be willing to cave and accept one-sided tariffs."
Poilievre said this would leave sectors like steel, aluminum and autos at a disadvantage to the United States and risk seeing those jobs move south of the border.
"I'm very concerned about the deindustrialization of our country if our key industries pay one-sided tariffs," Poilievre told reporters in Kitchener, Ont.
"Mr. Carney's got to tell us how he's going to avoid the full deindustrialization of our economy if he accepts one-sided tariffs as part of this deal. We want the good deal that Mark Carney promised. Remember, his entire election campaign was about elbows up, don't accept a bad deal. Well, one-sided tariffs on Canadian industry would be a bad deal."
Unlike other tariffs, the duties that are on pause would affect goods that are compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade.
The tariffs would be placed on a wide variety of goods from hockey sticks and honey to concrete and plywood.
Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
