Canada-U.S. trade talks back on in Washington
· Toronto Sun
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Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc has returned to Washington for the second time in two weeks for talks with the U.S. after President Donald Trump issued new tariff threats.
Janice Charette, Canada’s chief negotiator in trade talks with the U.S., joins LeBlanc for “a series of trade-related engagements,” according to his press secretary.
Top priority talks
LeBlanc has recently been back and forth from Washington as Canada and the U.S. have become increasingly embroiled in a trade war . Angered over several issues — most publicly provincial bans on American alcohol — Trump signed an executive order last month that would impose 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods: Wine, hockey sticks and cement were on Trump’s hitlist as the president accused Canada of discriminatory trade practices. Those levies will take effect in a few weeks time unless a deal gets hammered out or the president changes his mind.
As one of the key figures in the U.S. booze ban, Premier Doug Ford says the provinces only took such action after Trump imposed tariffs on Canada.
Not much progress from Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month that both sides are ramping up talks to reach a new trade deal, but Trump recently told Fox News he’s not interested in a deal.
“I don’t care. I mean I don’t really want to. I’d rather be independent,” he said.
It’s not just Canada. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) can now undergo annual reviews after all three countries failed to renew the deal on July 1.
“Mexico and Canada need us. We don’t need them,” Trump said. “(CUSMA) is not important for us.”
PM courts Europe
Carney has sought trade deals with other countries amid a lack of progress with the U.S., particularly countries in Europe, and has said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that it’s time for the world to pull away from the U.S. sphere on influence and draw closer to European Union, adding, “We are the most European of non-European countries.”
“The world is undergoing a rupture across several dimensions in technology, in energy, in commerce and in geopolitics. Integration is being used as a weapon by some and the rules are not constraining hegemonies,” Carney said.