U.S. and Canada Near Completion of Trade Agreement Ahead of Tariff Deadline
U.S. and Canadian officials are in final talks to avoid 50% tariffs on $20 billion of goods, with a deadline of early Saturday.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Canadian trade officials met on Friday morning in Washington to finalize a pending trade agreement before new tariffs are imposed. The tariffs, set at 50% on a range of Canadian products including hockey sticks, wine and other imports worth roughly $20 billion, were scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday if no deal is reached.
Canada’s trade minister Dominic LeBlanc said negotiators remain "very close" to an agreement and will continue working until a final document is signed. He added that Canadians expect a deal that protects the country's economic interests and workers.
The pending talks also address existing U.S. duties on Canadian steel, aluminum and lumber, as well as broader issues such as automotive tariffs and the potential revival of the Keystone XL pipeline. The Trump administration has indicated that Canada has agreed to reduce trade barriers for the United States, though specific details have not been disclosed.
If the deadline passes, the 50% tariffs would be applied under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a provision rarely used since its enactment during the Great Depression.