Officials on both sides of the border are still talking even though there are no official trade negotiations under way, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Friday.
asserted
LeBlanc → talk → way
He said he has no meetings in Washington scheduled but has spoken several times with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and sometimes speaks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as well.
asserted
meetings → say → Lutnick
LeBlanc said he sent a text to Lutnick on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
asserted
he → say → attacks
Lutnick’s brother Gary died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center that day.
asserted
brother → die → Center
“He has talked to me often about what that meant for him and his family,” LeBlanc said.
asserted
LeBlanc → talk → him
“So I sent him a message to say I was thinking about him.”
asserted
I → send → him
LeBlanc had multiple meetings with Greer in Washington over the summer, including during the intense two-week period before the August trade deal deadline imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
asserted
LeBlanc → have → Trump
Those talks were suspended on Aug. 21.
asserted
talks → suspend → Aug.
They have not met since and LeBlanc said he has no formal meetings scheduled.
asserted
meetings → meet → ?
Speaking in French, he said that even without formal negotiations, maintaining the relationship is important “for all kinds of reasons.”
asserted
maintaining → speak → reasons
He said the government must be ready for the prospect of a deal that respects Canadian sovereignty and serves the country’s national interest.
asserted
that → say → interest
The two countries appeared to be on the verge of a deal in August to settle some outstanding trade irritants and prevent the U.S. from imposing a new round of punishing tariffs on Canada.
asserted
countries → appear → Canada
When Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended those talks and summoned LeBlanc back to Canada, Carney accused the American side of making last-minute demands that would undermine Canada’s sovereignty.
asserted
that → suspend → sovereignty
Trump then imposed 50-per-cent tariffs on nearly $28-billion in Canadian goods.
asserted
Trump → impose → goods
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs took effect Tuesday; later that same day, Trump signed new orders to ban imports of some Canadian products, including most alcohol.
asserted
Trump → take → alcohol
He also added new products to the tariff list and took some off it, including toilet paper, cement and road salt.
asserted
He → add → paper
Both sides blame each other for the impasse.
asserted
sides → blame → impasse
Asked about reports that Mexico and the U.S. are getting closer to reaching a bilateral trade agreement, LeBlanc said Canadian officials also talk with their counterparts in Mexico.
asserted
officials → ask → Mexico
“They’ve been at this for a number of months,” he said.
asserted
he → say → months
“We’re focused on the work that we need to do both in the bilateral discussions with the United States and obviously around the review of CUSMA, the trilateral agreement.
asserted
we → ’re → CUSMA
The Trump administration did not extend CUSMA in July.
asserted
administration → extend → July
That triggered an annual rolling review of the trade deal that could continue for up to a decade.
uncertain
that → trigger → decade
The deal will expire after that review if all three countries can’t agree on an extension.
asserted
countries → expire → extension
LeBlanc said he was encouraged by recent comments by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that suggested it would be beneficial for all three countries to work at the same table.
uncertain
countries → say → table
“We remain optimistic that we’ll get there, and the Mexicans in that sense are very much in the same vein as us,” said LeBlanc.
asserted
LeBlanc → remain → us
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told a virtual town hall of business owners and industry representatives on Thursday that her government has identified 65 items on the Canadian countertariff list that she wants to see removed.
asserted
she → tell → that
She said the countertariffs are hitting $4.9-billion in exports from Alberta businesses, while just $1.8-billion in Alberta exports are exposed to U.S. tariffs.
asserted
billion → say → tariffs
She said much of Alberta’s countertariff exposure is linked to U.S. products used as inputs in manufacturing, or machinery needed for industry.
asserted
much → say → industry
“The central concern for Alberta is whether companies can maintain access to specialized steel goods, machinery, equipment and construction inputs that aren’t readily available from Canadian suppliers and may not be replaceable from non-U.S. sources within required timelines,” Smith said.
uncertain
Smith → maintain → timelines
“Our hope is that we would get those removed completely from the countertariff list.
asserted
those → get → list
But also, barring that, be able to work with the federal government on a streamlined remissions process, so that when you do pay those, we can reimburse you.”
asserted
we → bar → you
Ian Bremmer, American political scientist and president of the Eurasia Group, suggested Canada should get used to tariffs, no matter who is in the White House.
uncertain
who → suggest → House
He told reporters in Banff on Thursday that it’s important for Canada to distinguish between the broader structural changes in U.S. policy and the “unpredictability and unreliability” of Trump himself.
asserted
Canada → tell → Trump
“I do believe that there is permanent damage that has been done to the U.S.-Canada relationship.
asserted
that → believe → relationship
I do not believe it will ever come back to what it was,” he said.
asserted
he → believe → ?
“But I also think there’s a great deal of repair that can and will be done.”
asserted
that → think → repair
The Aporia
