Canada and the United States have resumed “in a sense” negotiations to reduce sectoral tariffs. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Monday, after U.S. They were put on hold in the autumn by President Trump. “We thought that we were making progress on the sectoral tariffs, and that was the discussion that Mr. Trump suspended,” LeBlanc told reporters in Ottawa.
He then pointed to his meeting on March 6 in Washington with U.S. The Canadian minister introduced Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to Chief U.S. Trade Negotiator Janice Charette and U.S. Ambassador Mark Wiseman — both of whom began their new roles last month.
According to LeBlanc, Charette also had her first meeting with Greer’s direct counterpart at the same time. LeBlanc said, “So in a sense, that would have been the resumption of those conversations,” adding that he, Wiseman, and Charrette have had additional conversations with their American counterparts. The challenge posed by sectoral tariffs and the upcoming review of CUSMA—the free trade agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico—continue to occupy our attention. LeBlanc added later that, ultimately, Canadian talks with American counterparts “remain productive and we remain engaged.” That is not the same as October. Trump in October suspended talks aimed at reducing his tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and other Canadian industries in anger over an Ontario government ad that quoted former U.S. president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.
Prime Minister Mark Carney personally offered his apologies to President Trump for the ad, but Trump stated that the trade talks were still on hold. Before the suspension, LeBlanc said Canada and the U.S. had been discussing “a series of measures that we thought would have been beneficial to the economy of both countries, and we continue to have those discussions and look forward — we hope — to arriving at a conclusion.”
Greer has since voiced concerns about ongoing trade barriers, such as provinces refusing to sell American alcohol products, and suggested difficulties in negotiations with Canada. He said this month after the meeting with LeBlanc that “Canada is behind” on bilateral talks leading up to this summer’s CUSMA review compared to Mexico, which has already begun formal negotiations with the U.S.
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