Canada

Canada-U.S. trade minister to meet U.S. counterpart for 3rd time in as many weeks

Meeting comes ahead of Aug. 19 deadline for new 50% U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is set to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington Tuesday, marking the third time in three weeks the pair have met face to face, according to sources familiar with the talks who were not permitted to speak publicly.

LeBlanc had initially planned to travel to Washington on Monday, but his flight to the U.S. capital was diverted back to Montreal Monday afternoon due to severe weather.

Canada's chief trade negotiator, Janice Charette, meanwhile spent all day Monday in Washington meeting with officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative .

This third meeting between LeBlanc and Greer comes ahead of an Aug. 19 deadline, at which point the U.S. plans to put 50 per cent tariffs on about five per cent of Canadian exports to the country. The targeted goods range from alcohol to hockey sticks to cement.

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In addition to trying to dissuade Americans from levying new tariffs, LeBlanc and Charette are looking for relief on sectoral tariffs the U.S. has slapped on Canadian steel, aluminum, lumber and autos.

Canada is also hoping the ongoing trade talks between the two countries will result in an extension of the Canada United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) after the Trump administration declined to renew the deal back in July.

When announcing the Aug. 19 tariffs, the U.S. raised a number of trade irritants, including Canada's retaliation against U.S. trade policy with the removal of U.S. alcohol from provincial store shelves and alleged Canadian discrimination against U.S. motor vehicles and dairy.

According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, the alcohol bans in every province save Alberta and Saskatchewan have resulted in a $360-million US drop in wine exports to Canada in 2025 from the previous year, along with a $150-million US drop in spirit exports.

Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Vintage.