Overview
- Canada’s lead negotiators, Dominic LeBlanc and Janice Charette, have been meeting U.S. officials and industry in Washington this week as Ottawa seeks a single, cross‑sector agreement to remove tariffs before the Aug. 19 deadline.
- Reports show concrete movement on steel and aluminum but fewer detailed talks on autos, which Ottawa says must be part of any meaningful deal.
- A newspaper report that Canada may offer export quotas on steel and aluminum in exchange for lifting U.S. Section 232 metal tariffs remains unconfirmed and is described as a developing proposal.
- Ottawa has ruled out using oil and gas as retaliatory leverage, while U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is pressing for interim fixes on issues like dairy and provincial alcohol measures before broader structural talks.
- Public barbs between Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump have raised political pressure at home and in Washington as provinces weigh targeted supports for affected workers and businesses.