LeBlanc set to meet Lutnick in Washington after Ottawa drops some tariffs

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WASHINGTON — Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is set to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington this week after Ottawa announced it would be lifting some retaliatory tariffs.

LeBlanc’s office said he will travel to the United States capital on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced last Friday that Canada will drop some retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products to match American tariff exemptions for goods covered under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA. .

Canada’s counter-tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles will remain.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday called the decision to lift some duties “nice” and the White House said it was “long overdue.”

LeBlanc has said the retaliatory tariffs were a “significant point of contention” in negotiations ahead of President Donald Trump’s move to boost duties on Canada to 35 per cent earlier this month. Those duties are not applied to goods compliant under CUSMA.

The White House pointing to the flow of fentanyl and retaliatory tariffs as the reasoning behind the boosted levies.

Canada imposed 25 per cent tariffs on a long list of American goods in March, including oranges, alcohol, clothing and shoes, motorcycles and cosmetics. Canada’s CUSMA exemption for American imports will take effect on Sept. 1.

Ottawa’s move to amend tariffs received a mixed response in Canada. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said it was a representation of Carney’s “capitulation and climbdown” while the the Canadian Federation of Independent Business called it “a step in the right direction.”

LeBlanc has said he’s in constant communication with his American counterpart. He met with Lutnick on numerous occasions in Washington ahead of Trump’s trade deal deadline of Aug. 1.

LeBlanc has said the goal is to negotiate a bilateral agreement that helps lessen the impact of Trump’s separate tariffs steel, aluminum, copper, lumber and autos.

Trump has appeared unwilling to change sectoral tariffs, or to ease economywide duties even as countries strike a deal. On Monday, Trump said America is “the most respected we have ever been” while talking about how much money has come in from duties.

Dropping some of Canada’s counter tariffs could also ease tensions ahead of a review of the continental trade pact next year. Initial negotiations are likely to begin in the coming months.

CUSMA is critical for Canada as Trump moves to realign global trade, allowing for a majority of Canadian goods to remain tariff-free.

The trilateral trade pact was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. The president in May said CUSMA was very effective but also said he didn’t know “if it’s necessary anymore.”