WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Canadian official said on Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are expected to speak “over the next number of days.” The discussion follows the United States’ decision to place a 35% tariff on goods not included in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact.
Dominic LeBlanc, the federal cabinet minister overseeing U.S.-Canada trade, also mentioned in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that he felt “encouraged” by recent talks and believed a deal to lower the tariffs was still possible.
“We’re encouraged by the conversations with Secretary Lutnick and Ambassador Greer, but we’re not yet where we need to go to get the deal that’s in the best interest of the two economies,” LeBlanc stated, referencing U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The trade minister confirmed his expectation that Carney and Trump would have a conversation in the near future.
“We think there is an option of striking a deal that will bring down some of these tariffs [and] provide greater certainty to investment,” LeBlanc commented.
Washington attributed Friday’s tariff announcement partially to what it described as Canada’s failure to prevent the smuggling of fentanyl. This action is the latest development in a trade dispute that has lasted for months, initiated by Trump shortly after he returned to office this year.
In response, Prime Minister Carney has stated that Canada contributes only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working diligently to reduce those numbers further.
