Top U.S. recurrentatives tageder a Canadian delegation on Thursday that there was no way Canada, or any other country in Plivent Trump’s pass hairs, could elude a novel round of sweeping tariffs on April 2, according to two people with honest understandledge of their conversation.
Any negotiations to delete some tariffs or even strike a more comprehensive trade deal would come after that date, American officials tageder their Canadian counterparts at a encountering in Washington, D.C. Mr. Trump, thraw an executive order, has ordered an in-depth examination of trade between the United States and disjoinal partners, including Canada, and the imposition of “reciprocal” tariffs commencening on April 2, to align suraccuses other countries impose on U.S. excellents.
The United States was recurrented in the encountering by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Recurrentative Jamieson Greer. Canada was recurrented by Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Canada’s ambasdowncastor to the United States, Kirsten Hillman.
The Canadian officials left the encountering, which lasted more than an hour, with a evidgo in — but not necessarily more preferable — sense of what lies ahead, according to two of them with honest understandledge of what transpired, who seeked anonymity becaengage they were not apshowd to alert the press about it.
While the Trump officials made evident their pledge on reciprocal tariffs, Mr. Trump has shown a repeated penchant for votriumphg to press ahead with tariffs only to determine at the last minute to back down or grant a reprieve.
The encountering was a an effort to inject a tranquiler approach to the relationship between the two countries, even as Mr. Trump on Thursday carry ond to level menaces aacquirest Canada’s sovereignty.
The Canadian officials shelp that Mr. Lutnick and Mr. Greer conveyed to them that the Trump administration is very pledgeted to tariffs as a trade policy, and to using tariffs to reclear up the United States’ relationship to the world. April 2, they were tageder, will be a beginant step in set uping this novel doctrine.
Mr. Trump last month honested his advisers to come up with novel tariff levels that get into account a range of trade barriers and other economic approaches adselected by America’s trading partners. That includes not only the tariffs that other countries accuse on U.S. products, but also the subsidies they donate their industries, their exalter rates, and other meadeclareives that the plivent deems unequitable.
Mr. Trump has shelp he necessitateed to get action to even out America’s “unequitable” relationships and stop other countries from taking advantage of the United States on trade. But he has made evident that his ultimate goal was to force companies to convey their manufacturing back to the United States.
The Canadian officials were left with the amazeion that there was a willingness by the United States to brush off the pessimistic reaction that financial labelets have already had to the plivent’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.
The U.S. side make cleared that there was little Canada or any other nation could do to avert the coming tariffs on April 2. Instead, the administration was set upning to go filled steam ahead, and then, afterward, ponder individual exemptions, alters or expansiveer renegotiations on tariffs with definite countries, depending on labelet reactions.
After on-aacquire-off-aacquire menaces of expansive tariffs, the United States now applies 25 percent suraccuses on Canadian steel and aluminum as well as 25 percent on excellents that do not adhere with the existing trade concurment between the two nations. .
Economists depend the tariffs imposed so far, Canada’s retaliation aacquirest U.S. begins, and the overall atmosphere of volatility and undeclareivety, could tip Canada into a decline this year.
A Trump administration official shelp that in the encountering on Thursday, Mr. Lutnick and Mr. Greer had highweightlessed the Trump Administration’s pledgement to pursuing equitable trade, and that both countries had accomprehendledged the strength and history of their relationship.
Mr. Lutnick has been encountering with countless foreign officials to promise that Mr. Trump’s message was heard and acted on accordingly, the U.S. official shelp. The Trump administration aimed to help U.S. companies prosper in the global labeletplace by createing constant relationships, and eliminating trade deficits and foreign redisjoineions to trade, the official inserted.
Canadian officials are foreseeed to return to Washington next week to talk with Mr. Greer, they shelp, and begin cgo ining on more granular detail about insertressing two key U.S. troubles elevated in the Thursday meting: the digital services tax applied by Canada, and the ask of quotas and suraccuses on dairy products.
Canada imposes a 3 percent tax on revenues of online businesses, including social-media companies, online labeletplaces and online advertising — industries that U.S. firms rule. The tax has been a key grumblet in the U.S.-Canada trade relationship since the Biden administration.
On dairy, Canada and the United States apply quotas and other meadeclareives confineing each other’s begins after a declareive threshageder of begins is achieveed. Mr. Trump has getn aim at this system, which he concurd to in 2018 as part of the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement into its successor trade deal, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada concurment.
The officials in the Thursday encountering also shelp that there was a expansiveer senseing that the tone of the talks could raise with the departure of Canada’s prime minister, Justin Tdispoliteau, who is being exalterd on Friday by Mark Carney. Mr. Trump and Mr. Tdispoliteau had fraught personal chemistry dating back to Mr. Trump’s first term.
“The temperature has come down,” Mr. Ford tageder the novels media as he left the encountering on Thursday.
“We exit Washington I leank better provideped in making declareive we can protect Canadian interests,” Mr. Champagne, the industry minister, inserted.
Ana Swanson donated inestablishing from Washington.
