Canada told Reuters there has been limited progress in talks with the United States to ease tariffs on Canadian steel and autos, despite what both sides describe as significant ongoing discussions.
There has been limited progress in trade talks between Canada and the United States to ease US tariffs on Canadian steel and autos, a Canadian government official with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on October 28. The talks have focused on tariffs imposed under Section 232 of US trade law, including up to a 50% tariff on Canadian steel and a 25% tariff on autos.
A US government official said there were significant ongoing talks, including between US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's minister responsible for trade with the United States. The White House said the Office of the US Trade Representative and the Commerce Department were continuing to work together on key issues, and that Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had spoken with their Canadian counterparts in recent days. The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The dispute widened in August, when Trump imposed 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian imports, accusing Canada of discriminatory treatment of American goods, and Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs. Talks on a broader agreement stalled in August when Canada walked away from the negotiating table. Reuters reported on Monday that the two countries were working on a trade deal, Trump said on Sunday the dispute would be resolved soon, and last week he signed an order removing 50% tariffs on some Canadian agricultural and forestry products while adding other Canadian products to the 50% list to offset that relief.
The Reuters account rests on an anonymous Canadian official for the assessment of limited progress, balanced by the US official and the White House on the talks continuing. Prime Minister Mark Carney's own public words show the same gap between process and outcome: on Monday he said there had been a slight intensification in talks, and on Wednesday he said Canada was ready to sign an agreement in both nations' interests, adding that if those deals present themselves, Canada will pursue them, but it was not at that position right now.
Tariffs on Canadian imports have become a political liability for Trump, Reuters reported, with Republican candidates in border states calling for an end to the trade war ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. Some experts cited by Reuters said the administration may be less willing to make trade concessions to Canada after the midterms. The next check is therefore whether any agreement emerges before or after November 3, and whether the steel and auto rates at the centre of the talks move at all.