More work still needs to be done.
That’s the assessment from political sources on the trade talks in Washington, D.C., as Canada stares down the barrel of a tariff deadline set for Wednesday.
The two sides are talking, but both appear to be digging in on key issues and remain far apart.
Canada's U.S. trade minister, Dominic Leblanc, and his chief negotiator stayed in Washington over the weekend as the talks gained intensity ahead of the looming deadline. Going into the weekend there had been optimism, but Leblanc has again said little.
Sources in Ottawa said that there had been some movement, and there were positive signs the two sides were coming closer on some issues.
But as the weekend dragged, the optimism dissipated like morning mist on a summer’s day. Washington’s trade ambassador, Jamieson Greer, said he was working in the best interests of the U.S., and if there was no deal by Aug. 19, actions will be taken.
"If a country retaliates against us we’re obviously not going to tolerate that," Greer said. "We’ll take action. My sense is the Canadians, they want to have a more conciliatory approach, but we’ll see."
Canada is trying to head off the 50%t tariffs President Donald Trump has threatened by Wednesday. It also wants the U.S. to eliminate or lower tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum, forestry, and automobile sectors.
As it stands, the U.S. wants Canada to remove the ban on sales of American liquor products, end counter tariffs on autos and do away with the supply management system in Canada’s dairy sector.
That last issue, on dairy, is a line in the sand for Quebec Premier Christine Frechette.
"There is a blitz, an ongoing blitz of negotiations in Washington, D.C., and we need to make sure that the federal government will not put forward the idea of modifying the supply management for the dairy system," she said.
Another political leader who said supply management should not even be considered is Yves-Francois Blanchet, the leader of the separatist Bloc Quebecois party.
"There’s a very important risk that this will not go as we want it to go," he said. "And I would remind the government that a bill has been adopted by the parliament which is over any party in the parliament that says supply management is not to be touched."
Observers say the mood in Canada is to fight back if no fair deal is reached by Wednesday, and nowhere is that more apparent that in the auto sector.
"We have to be prepared that if we can’t get a deal that basically gets rid of these unsustainable tariffs, Canada will have choice here but to retaliate," said Lana Payne, the president of UNIFOR, which represents thousands of Canadian auto workers.
And on the issue of the ban on American liquor products, which has become a major irritant for the White House, it falls under provincial jurisdiction, and provincial leaders are split on whether to remove the ban. But not Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
"During the negotiations, if we get a fair deal that will protect our steel sector, auto sector, our forestry sector, agriculture sector, manufacturing sector, then we’d be more than happy to bring booze back on the shelves — only if we have a deal that’s going to protect those sectors," he said.
Canada’s lead negotiator, Janice Charette, has warned if Washington imposes more tariffs Wednesday, trade talks could grind to a halt. Canadian officials have not yet said what sectors they would target with a response, but recent polls show that about 90% of Canadians don’t want to roll over in the negotiations.
Leblanc and Greer were hoping to have an outline of an agreement to present to Trump before Wednesday. Even if they get one, there’s no telling what the president might do, or say, or demand at the last minute.
