San Francisco Frontiers - US, Canada push to seal trade deal as deadline nears

In the latest salvo amid months of trade hostility, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose new 50-percent duties on a range of Canadian products by Wednesday. But he has issued a last-minute delay, citing major progress in trade talks.

Canadian negotiators have been camped out in Washington this week trying to finalize a deal that reportedly aims to address a range of flash points.

Both sides have said a pact is nearly done, but talks were continuing Friday, with top Canadian negotiator Dominic LeBlanc meeting US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

After meeting Greer on Thursday, LeBlanc told reporters "we're very close." He did not answer questions when he entered Greer's office on Friday.

Canada wants relief from Trump's tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, which have battered Canada's economy, forced job losses, and strained what was once an iron-clad trade relationship.

Details of the proposed agreement emerged this week after Prime Minister Mark Carney briefed the leaders of Canada's provinces and territories.

US tariffs will likely be reduced in certain areas, but not removed entirely, with Saskatchewan's conservative Premier Scott Moe telling reporters there's no going back to the pre-Trump "status quo."

Ryan Majerus, a trade lawyer at King & Spalding, told AFP that Washington's apparent willingness to reduce the sector-specific tariffs "dramatically increases the potential of a deal."

"I think both sides want an off-ramp here," Majerus said, while noting that Ottawa was "under tremendous pressure" to get tariffs removed and the public may be unhappy with the outcome.

Canada's opposition Conservative Party was already on the offensive Friday, with its leader Pierre Poilievre saying "one-sided tariffs on Canadian industry would be a bad deal."

"Tell me how the Canadian company is supposed to compete against an American company when only our guy pays the tariff," Poilievre said.

- Booze ban -

Canada's regional leaders said the United States has been particularly irritated by one retaliatory measure: the removal of US alcohol and wine from liquor stores.

Carney on Wednesday asked the provinces to restock US booze.

Some publicly agreed, but others voiced hesitance.

Quebec Premier Christine Frechette said she wanted to study the deal before agreeing to anything, while Manitoba's left-wing Premier Wab Kinew told reporters Trump appeared "weak" and suggested Canada should "fight."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, one of Trump's most prominent critics during the trade war, has so far stayed quiet.

Ford controls the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, one of the largest individual purchasers of US alcohol products.

Carney has repeatedly told Canadians that relations with the United States have been forever changed, regardless of what happens with an individual trade deal.

He says the country needs to diversify and reduce its reliance on the United States, which currently accounts for roughly 70 percent of Canadian exports.

Beyond the ongoing negotiations, the United States and Canada still have to agree on revisions to the North American free trade agreement, USMCA, which Trump declined to renew last month.

A.Clark--SFF