The best American representatives told a Canadian delegation on Thursday that there was no way that Canada, or any other country of President Trump’s hair, could avoid a new series of radical rates on April 2, according to two people with direct knowledge of their conversation.
Any negotiation to remove certain prices or even conclude a more complete trade agreement would occur after this date, told US officials to their Canadian counterparts at a meeting in Washington, DC Mr. Trump, through a decree, ordered an in-depth examination of trade between the United States and several partners, including Canada, and the taxation of American goods from prices from April 2, to match surfaces, and other countries involved.
The United States was represented at the meeting by the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the US trade representative Jamieson Greer. Canada was represented by Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc, Minister of Industry François-Philippe Champagne, Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford and Canada Ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman.
Canadian officials left Reunion, which lasted more than an hour, with a clearer feeling – but not necessarily more optimistic – from what awaits us, according to two of them with a direct knowledge of what happened, which asked for anonymity because they were not allowed to inform the press about it.
While Trump officials have clearly explained their commitment to reciprocal prices, Trump showed a repeated inclination to promise to advance the prices with prices to decide at the last minute to retreat or grant a stay.
Reunion was an effort to inject a quieter approach to the relationship between the two countries, even if Mr. Trump continued on Thursday to level up threats against Canada’s sovereignty.
Canadian officials said Lutnick and Greer have made them argue that Trump administration was very committed to prices as a trade policy and using prices to redefine the United States relationship with the world. On April 2, they said, will be a major step in the creation of this new doctrine.
Last month, Trump ordered his advisers to offer new rate levels that take into account a range of commercial barriers and other economic approaches adopted by American trade partners. This includes not only the prices that other countries charge on American products, but also the subsidies they give to their industries, their exchange rates and other measures that the president deems unfair.
Trump said he had to take action to even get America’s “unfair” relations and prevent other countries from taking advantage of the United States on trade. But he clearly indicated that his ultimate goal was to force companies to bring back their manufacture to the United States.
Canadian officials felt like there was a desire in the United States to paint the negative reaction that the financial markets have already had at the President’s prices in Canada, Mexico and China.
The American team explained that there were few Canada or any other nation could do to avoid the prices to come on April 2. Instead, the administration planned to move forward, then, after, consider individual exemptions, changes or wider renegotiations on prices with specific countries, depending on market reactions.
After threats of extended prices in suddenly, the United States now applies 25% of Canadian steel and aluminum supplements as well as 25% on goods that do not comply with the trade agreement between the two nations. .
Economists believe that the prices imposed so far, Canada’s reprisals against American imports and the overall atmosphere of volatility and uncertainty could tip Canada this year.
A Trump administration official said that at the meeting on Thursday, Mr. Lunick and Greer underlined the Trump administration’s commitment to continue fair trade and that the two countries had recognized the strength and history of their relationship.
Lutnick met many foreign officials to ensure that Mr. Trump’s message was heard and acted accordingly, said the American official. The Trump administration was aimed at helping American companies thrive on the global market by establishing balanced relations and eliminating trade deficits and foreign restrictions on trade, added the official.
Canadian officials are scheduled to return to Washington next week to speak with Mr. Greer, they said, and are starting to focus on more granular details on the resolution of two key American concerns raised in Thursday: digital services tax applied by Canada, and the question of quotas and supplements on dairy products.
Canada imposes a 3% tax on online business income, including social companies, online markets and online advertising – of industries that US companies dominate. The tax has been a key complaint in the trade relationship of the United States-Canada since the Biden administration.
On dairy products, Canada and the United States apply quotas and other measures limiting the other after a certain import threshold is reached. Trump targeted this system, which he accepted in 2018 as part of the renegotiation of the North American free trade agreement in his successor trade agreement, the American-mexico-Canadian agreement.
Thursday meeting officials also said that there was a broader feeling than the tone of talks could improve with the departure of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is replaced on Friday by Mark Carney. Trump and Trudeau had reached personal chemistry dating from Mr. Trump’s first term.
“The temperature has dropped,” Ford told the media when he left the meeting on Thursday.
“We leave Washington, I think, better equipped to ensure that we can defend Canadian interests,” added Champagne, the Minister of Industry.
Ana Swanson Contribution of Washington reports.
