OTTAWA: Canada's minister in charge of U.S. trade relations, Dominic LeBlanc, met with U.S. trade officials on Tuesday for the third time in as many weeks to try to avert looming tariffs on August 19.
"Today, we met with the United States Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer. We remain committed at the negotiating table and continue to work diligently to advance and staunchly defend Canadian interests," LeBlanc said in a social media post after his meeting with Greer.
Canada's Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette also attended the meeting.
U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed a new set of tariffs on Canadian goods that are scheduled to go into effect next week and could threaten a fragile economic recovery in Canada.
Trump, who has frequently criticized Canada, a long-time U.S. ally, said last month he would impose 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian products in retaliation for Canada's counter-tariffs on U.S. autos and steel, as well as some Canadian provinces' refusal to stock American alcohol.
The U.S. Trade Representative's office said that the tariffs would apply to nearly $20 billion of imports from Canada, which is about 5.2% of the $383 billion worth of goods that the U.S. imported from Canada in 2025, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Unlike previous tariffs imposed on Canadian goods, those covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will not be exempted.
A source familiar with the talks said last week Ottawa could offer concessions on some irritants raised by the Trump administration in exchange for Washington scrapping the imposition of new tariffs.
