Canada, U.S. negotiators meeting again to finalize trade deal ahead of new tariff deadline

Canada, U.S. negotiators meeting again to finalize trade deal ahead of new tariff deadline

Carney claims 'best terms' in U.S. trade deal, asks provinces to restock U.S. booze

Hello. Here's a recap of where things stand with trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S.

Canadian and U.S. officials are working on finalizing a deal that would avert new U.S. tariffs on nearly $30 billion in Canadian goods.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced late on Tuesday that he was suspending the planned tariffs by three days to allow for more talks. That means that if a deal isn't reached, the measures would come into effect just after midnight on Saturday.

A source with knowledge of the forthcoming agreement said U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum are being lowered from 50 per cent to 25 per cent and that Canadian officials are aiming to complete the deal by Friday.

Trump told reporters he brokered "a very good deal" with Canada, but few details have been released.

Provincial bans on U.S. booze sales have been a powerful point of leverage for Canada throughout the trade talks.

According to the White House, American businesses and workers, and U.S. commerce, have suffered as provinces and territories rolled out "unreasonable and unequal impositions and discriminations" on U.S. beer, wine and spirits.

How much money are we talking about? Last month, the Trump administration said Canadian imports of U.S. alcoholic beverages are down about 81 per cent year over year, dropping to $137 million US for March 2025 through February 2026, from $718 million in the same period a year before.

The pain has been especially acute in states like California, known for its wine, and Kentucky, which is famous for whisky.

"Canada is Kentucky's number one trading partner," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told CBC News in a recent interview.

"They've been a good trading partner. But because [Trump] has demeaned them, because he has questioned their sovereignty, they've taken Kentucky bourbon off their shelves, which hurts our economy. And honestly, every Canadian deserves good Kentucky bourbon."

Andrew Furey, the former premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, weighed in on the importance of provincial bans on U.S. booze during these trade negotiations.

The Ontario premier "is in an incredibly powerful position right now," Furey told CBC News. "If he does not put alcohol back on the shelves, that could cause some disruption in the ... space of a potential deal."

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) said annual sales of U.S. alcohol in the province totalled as much as $965 million before the ban was put into effect.

Furey also said that each premier has to assess their own industries "and how the potential deal impacts their own citizens."

Ford has yet to comment on today's statement from N.L. Premier Tony Wakeham, who said the provinces have "all agreed" to put U.S. alcohol back on the shelves.

Last week, Ford told reporters, "If we get a fair deal that will protect our steel sector, our auto sector, our forestry sector, our agriculture sector, manufacturing sector, then we'd be more than happy to bring booze back onto the shelves, only if we have a deal that's going to protect those sectors."

Rita Rahmati at the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction says getting U.S. tariffs down to 25 per cent from 50 per cent is "progress" but remains "very difficult" for producers.

"It hopefully is a good signal that we're closer to reaching trade deals, and it's closer to zero, which is where we want to be ultimately," she told CBC News.

But Rahmati said 25 per cent tariffs still make it "very difficult to be competitive with the United States."

"We have similar costs of running businesses here in Canada as they do in the United States, so 25 per cent just doesn't get us close enough to really be competitive,” she said.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham says the prime minister gave provincial leaders an update on his talks with Trump.

"He's confident that they will reach an agreement. And as part of this agreement, he asked all the provinces, as a sign of good faith, will you put U.S. liquor back on our shelves, and we all agreed," Wakeham said.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBC News.

We have yet to hear from some provincial leaders, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, on the prospect of the U.S. booze bans being lifted.

—With files from Darrell Roberts

Lisa Raitt, a member of the Canada-U.S. advisory committee, says "a lot of discussion" will likely need to happen between the federal government and Canadian premiers who control the bans on U.S. alcohol sales.

She told CBC News that Canada also must ensure that any deal on a general U.S. tariff is "something that Canadian industry can live with."

A source with knowledge of the forthcoming agreement said U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum are being lowered from 50 per cent to 25 per cent.

If Canada agrees to a 25 per cent tariff, Raitt says she wonders whether "a government program or some kind of help" is put in place to help the industries withstand the economic pressure.

—With files from John Paul Tasker

Angus MacKinnon, a dairy farmer in Coaticook, Que., says the information that has come out so far about the potential Canada-U.S. deal is "encouraging for the dairy industry."

"Of course, the devil's in the detail. We'll get more information on that in the next 48 or 72 hours, but there is a sense of relief, I believe, compared to the rhetoric that was coming out of Washington at least 10 days ago," MacKinnon told CBC News.

Trump has long been critical of the Canadian dairy industry's supply management system, but Leblanc told reporters on Wednesday that the prime minister was "very clear" Ottawa needs "to protect supply management" in trade talks with Washington.

"We need to ensure that the supply management regime remains entirely intact, and I'm confident that that's the case," LeBlanc said.

MacKinnon said Canada's dairy farmers would be "disadvantaged just by the sheer volume" of U.S. dairy products being produced if they're allowed into the Canadian market. "It's our livelihood that's at stake," he said.

Quebec's provincial liquor store retailer, SAQ, said it has planned for the re-entry of American alcohol to store shelves and is waiting for the green light from the government to put it back.

A media officer for SAQ told Radio-Canada that American booze is currently being stored in warehouses in Montreal and Quebec City, so putting products back on shelves could take a bit of time as the supply chain would need to be restarted. They didn't speculate on just how long that process could take.

Local products would still have their place on SAQ shelves, too, the media officer said.

Good morning. Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is in Washington today to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

LeBlanc was in D.C. yesterday, but he flew back to Ottawa in the afternoon to attend a virtual cabinet meeting and brief Prime Minister Mark Carney on the status of the talks.

The two sides are continuing negotiations in an effort to avert new U.S. tariffs on nearly $30 billion in Canadian goods.

LeBlanc and Greer are scheduled to meet at 12:15 p.m. ET.

On Tuesday night, U.S. President Donald Trump said he paused his threatened 50 per cent tariffs on nearly $30 billion of Canadian goods. A full day later, Canadian and American leaders and negotiators are still ironing out the details of a trade deal that is expected to slash U.S. tariff rates on Canadian goods in exchange for provinces returning American liquor to store shelves, among other possible concessions.

Here's what we learned today about the trade agreement in the works:

In a virtual briefing to the country's first ministers, Prime Minister Mark Carney asked provincial and territorial premiers to put American booze back on their shelves. The provincial alcohol bans — originally put in place last year after Trump imposed tariffs on Canada — have been a trade irritant publicly bemoaned by U.S. officials. Saskatchewan and Alberta had already returned American liquor to stores in their provinces.

Trump's 50 per cent tariff threat is "not coming into effect," Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told reporters after Carney's briefing. Canada is still looking for a reduction to the existing tariff regime.

A source close to the negotiators told CBC News that officials plan to have the deal finished by Friday night. Canada's chief trade negotiator, Janice Charette, is still in Washington working on the agreement while Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc returned to Ottawa today.

Another source with knowledge of the negotiations says the deal in the works includes the U.S. lowering its headline tariff rate on Canadian-made vehicles to 15 per cent, down from the current 25 per cent. The source said it is expected that an exemption for U.S.-made content in those vehicles will remain in place. That exemption could reduce the effective tariff rate by up to half, to 7.5 per cent.