It remains to be seen whether Canada and the U.S. will agree to a trade deal before U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping 50 per cent tariffs hit on Aug. 19, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday.
“With respect to a deal, we’re interested in a more comprehensive deal, more global deal that addresses the strategic sectors,” Carney told reporters in Quebec on Thursday.
Ottawa is seeking a “win-win deal” that includes steel, aluminum, forestry and automobile sectors, he said.
“Will we get all of that by the 19th of August? We’ll see. But we want to have pathways in order to get that,” he added.
Ottawa’s negotiating team has been advocating for Canada’s forest sector at the table with Washington, Carney said.
“We bring up the forest sector every time we discuss with the United States,” he said.
Canada’s approach for a deal includes discussions on all sectors, not just on a few specific sectors, he added.
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“There are many things that the Americans want from Canada. They say they don’t want them, but they do want them. It’s critical minerals. It’s aluminum. And for us, it’s all connected. We’re one country. We care about all these sectors,” Carney said.
Last month, Trump vowed to impose 50 per cent tariffs on the vast majority of Canadian goods in response to “discriminatory” measures, including provincial boycotts of American booze. Those measures are set to go into effect on Aug. 19.
Trump signed three executive orders, each one using a different justification for the new tariff: the provincial and territorial boycotts on American alcohol products, Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles and auto parts and quotas on American dairy imports under Canada’s supply management system.
Canada is “looking at all options” on how to respond to the threat, Carney told reporters a day later.
“We will look at all options in terms of how we would respond if they do come into effect. That’s part of what we’ll be discussing with premiers,” Carney said.
Carney said he also spoke with Trump on the latest threat. “We agreed to intensify discussions,” he said.
The decision to withdraw U.S. alcohol from shelves was one taken by the provinces, he said.
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