Trump tariffs on Canada here to stay despite CUSMA, U.S. trade czar warns

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade czar said there will be tariffs in place on Mexico and Canada even though the countries are part of a continental trade pact.

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Tuesday that most nations around the world have “begrudgingly” accepted tariffs are part of the Trump administration’s ongoing policies and have been willing to continue negotiations.

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“Canada’s approach has been different,” Greer said during an event at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Greer was asked about the state of negotiations with Ottawa around the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA. Greer said Canada is in a “different spot” when it comes to accepting Trump’s tariffs and it’s “hard to see where that ends.”

The Trump administration has begun official CUSMA negotiations with Mexico but they haven’t started with Canada.

The CUSMA review sets up a three-way choice for each country to make in July. They can renew the deal for another 16 years, withdraw from it or signal both non-renewal and non-withdrawal — which would trigger an annual review that could keep negotiations going for up to a decade.

Greer has previously suggested the Trump administration is unlikely to rubberstamp a renewal. He is required to inform U.S. Congress about the decision next week.

Trump froze negotiations with Canada last year because he was angered by an Ontario-sponsored ad quoting former president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

There appeared to be a thaw in relations after Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc — along with Ottawa’s chief negotiator Janice Charette and newly appointed Ambassador to the United States Mark Wiseman — met with Greer in March.

Greer said Tuesday that he speaks with his Canadian counterparts regularly but “our sense is that we have, with Canada, some trade challenges.”

The continental trade pact has largely shielded Canada and Mexico from the worst impacts of Trump’s tariffs. The current 10 per cent global tariffs do not apply to goods compliant under CUSMA.

Greer pointed to trade in energy, critical minerals and fertilizer between the countries, saying it had remained “untouched” by Trump’s tariffs because they were common areas of economic benefit.

Canada is being slammed by Trump’s separate sectoral tariffs on goods like steel, aluminum, cabinetry and automobiles.

In a sign that there’s no room to negotiate lower automobile tariffs, Greer repeated Trump’s well-known claim about autos, saying, “Why do we make cars in Canada?”

“I think on some of these issues it’s going to be a challenging negotiation, but in some sectors of the economy it has been fine and it will be fine,” Greer said.

The Trump administration wants to prioritize supply chains in North America for national security reason, Greer said. If the United States can get good terms, the administration is looking to give preferential treatment on the continent, he added, but tariffs will remain.

Meanwhile, LeBlanc met with provincial and territorial trade ministers Monday. A news release said they discussed the evolving North American trade environment and the CUSMA review.

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