Canadian Minister says Canada, US far apart on draft trade deal, source says
OTTAWA - Canada and the US are still far from reaching a draft trade deal despite regular meetings, Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian Minister responsible for trade with the US, told an advisory committee on Friday, according to a source directly briefed on the matter.
LeBlanc is in Washington with his chief trade negotiator and a team of officials for discussions as the August 19 deadline approaches for the start of US President Donald Trump's new 50% tariffs.
LeBlanc has stepped up his engagement with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, meeting him four times in three weeks. LeBlanc's office said he will be staying in Washington for the weekend as trade talks continue.
The tariffs would cover nearly $20-billion of Canadian goods, or about 5.2% of Canada's exports to the US.
Unlike many of Trump's earlier tariffs, the new duties would apply to products that qualify for preferential treatment under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, posing an added risk to Canada's economy.
LeBlanc said in a briefing to the Advisory Committee on Canada-US Economic Relations that meetings are happening with his US counterparts on a daily basis, the source said.
"They said they're quite far away from an agreement that the Prime Minister can sign off on," the source said. "In negotiations like this, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed."
The source added that LeBlanc told the committee the two sides are meeting at a technical level constantly but have not yet reached agreement on key issues.
Gabriel Brunet, a spokesperson for LeBlanc, declined to comment.
Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and a member of the advisory committee briefed by LeBlanc, said both sides are aiming for an interim agreement that would resolve both some previously imposed US tariffs and the looming 50% tariffs.
She said multiple meetings are planned over the weekend between the parties.
LeBlanc also briefed Canada's provincial and territorial trade ministers on the progress of negotiations on Friday.
Key issues for the US include Canadian tariffs on US autos, disagreements over how dairy quotas should be allocated, and refusal of some Canadian provinces to stock US alcohol. Canada wants US tariffs on its steel and aluminium to be lowered.
