Trade representatives from the U.S. and Canada held urgent talks on Tuesday to resolve a dispute over tariffs before a midnight deadline, as Washington prepared to impose 50% duties on roughly $30 billion of Canadian goods.
The pending penalties target a broad range of exports including liquor, timber, paper and sporting goods under Section 338 of U.S. trade law. Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc sought concessions on these duties while pushing for reductions in preexisting Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney engaged in high-level negotiations alongside President Donald Trump, according to sources cited by CBC News. The talks focused on whether a compromise could be reached to prevent the Section 338 duties from taking effect at midnight, effectively halting Wednesday’s implementation.
Last year’s reciprocal tariffs between the two nations set the stage for the current standoff. Ottawa imposed retaliatory measures after Washington initiated its own trade actions, escalating tensions over industrial and consumer goods. The urgency of the negotiations underscored the economic stakes, with both sides seeking to avoid disruptions to cross-border supply chains valued in the tens of billions of dollars.
A failure to reach an agreement would result in immediate 50% tariffs on targeted Canadian exports, raising costs for U.S. importers and potentially triggering further retaliatory measures from Ottawa. The outcome of the talks remained uncertain as the deadline approached.
