PM to meet with U.S. senators in Ottawa to talk trade

Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet with a delegation of U.S. senators this morning who are in Ottawa to discuss the ongoing trade conflict between Canada and the U.S.

A media advisory from the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance says four senators plan to "reaffirm the importance of ties between the United States and Canada" in meetings with Carney and other top government officials.

The delegation includes Democratic senators Ron Wyden of Oregon, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, as well as Republican senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

In a letter to Carney on July 10, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods by Aug. 1, setting a new deadline for trade talks that had been looking to wrap up by today.

Carney told reporters last week that a trade deal with the U.S. will likely include some tariffs, and that he expected talks with the U.S. to “intensify” ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told an American television audience on Sunday that Canada will pay tariffs unless it opens its market to the United States.

Picture Courtesy:  THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young