Canadians want ‘conciliatory’ approach in talks, U.S. trade rep says

The Canadian delegation is looking for a “conciliatory approach” in trade talks, but Washington will hit back against any trade action, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday.

Canadian officials have been meeting with Greer and trying to hash out a trade deal with Washington before U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs hit Canada in less than a week.

“This is not a trade war. We have domestic supply chains that we are trying to protect and support, that’s what we’re trying to do. It’s not Canada-specific,” Greer told reporters in Iowa Friday.

The incoming U.S. tariffs against Canada are in response to “Canadian retaliatory measures,” Greer said.

“If a country retaliates against us, we’re obviously not going to tolerate that. We’ll take action. My sense is the Canadians, they want to have a more conciliatory approach, but we’ll see,” he added.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he is “confident” in the Canadian economy’s ability to weather the trade uncertainty.

“The best thing that we can do as Canadians is obviously to support our negotiating team, but at the same time to focus on what we can control,” Champagne said, adding that Ottawa was looking to build new trading relationships while negotiating a trade deal with the United States.

“I’m very confident in the Canadian economy. We are very resilient. Canadians are resilient. And we’re going to continue to do the work that needs to be done,” Champagne told reporters in Quebec on Friday.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington on Thursday afternoon.

Canada’s chief negotiator, Janice Charette, was also part of those talks, LeBlanc confirmed on social media after the meeting.

The two Canadian officials are “engaging with our U.S. counterparts” and “defending Canadian interests,” Champagne said.

Trump’s sweeping tariffs would affect both countries, a note from the Royal Bank of Canada economists Nathan Janzen and Claire Fan said on Friday.

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The impact on Canada “will be bigger” than the one on the U.S., “but still manageable,” the note said.

“The economy wide impact may be small, but reduced foreign demand for these products would still hurt production and jobs in key manufacturing industries—notably apparel and electrical equipment and appliances manufacturing,” it added.

Thursday’s meeting was the fourth one between LeBlanc and Greer in the last three weeks, LeBlanc posted on social media.

“Negotiations are ongoing, and we continue to advance Canada’s interests,” the minister said in a statement.

Sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Global News on Thursday that the Trump administration is pushing to keep at least some level of tariffs on vehicles and auto parts compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade (CUSMA) under an eventual deal.

The sources added that Canada is expected to make additional concessions beyond dropping provincial and territorial boycotts on U.S. alcohol and easing restrictions on dairy imports — two irritants identified by the U.S. as being behind the latest tariff threat.

While Canada is willing to walk away from a deal if tariffs are not reduced enough, the sources said the preference of the Carney government is to get a deal now, as part of a three-step trade strategy it is attempting to employ.

That strategy would start with a deal on sectoral tariffs and avoiding new ones coming into place, followed by new partnerships with the U.S. in areas like trade and defence and, finally, renegotiating CUSMA, according to the sources.

4:39 Canada-U.S. trade war: Tariff deadline 1 week away, but have negotiations progressed?

While Canada has been dealing with Trump’s tariffs for more than a year, including sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, the vast majority of Canadian goods traded under CUSMA have been exempt from the tariffs.

This could change on Aug. 19.

Trump has vowed to hit Canada with new sweeping 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of goods.

Trump’s decision to impose 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods was in response to what the U.S. calls “discriminatory” measures.

Trump signed three executive orders, each one using a different justification for the new tariff: the provincial and territorial boycotts on American alcohol products, Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles and auto parts, and quotas on American dairy imports under Canada’s supply management system.

In early 2025, several Canadian provinces removed U.S. alcohol from their shelves in response to Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the “51st state.”

The trade negotiations have hit several snags, with the Americans refusing to accept a deal that does not include at least some tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles and softwood lumber, sources told Global News earlier this week.

Sources added, however, that Canada is willing to “walk away” and let tariffs hit next week if there isn’t a substantial reduction in sectoral tariffs.

Both sides are working to present a deal to Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney before Aug. 19, they said.

1:56 What’s the potential impact on Canada if U.S. trade talks fall apart?

Industry insiders say companies are opting to wait and see as the clock ticks down on Trump’s latest tariff deadline, rather than rushing shipments across the border to beat the buzzer.

A new round of 50 per cent tariffs on nearly US$20 billion worth of Canadian goods ranging from dairy to down jackets is set to take effect Aug. 19.

Unlike most of Trump’s other tariffs, the duties would not exempt goods that comply with CUSMA.

Businesses are anxiously waiting to see whether the president will live up to his perceived proclivity for bluffing or backing down on his tariff promises, which has led to the acronym known as TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out).

Last summer, retailers and exporters across the globe rushed to beat U.S. tariff deadlines, but experts say Canadian shippers now appear more desensitized to the trade tumult, while preparing for the worst by assessing the potential financial toll.

– with files from Global’s Mackenzie Gray, Reggie Cecchini, Sean Boynton and Ariel Rabinovitch and The Canadian Press