Canada, U.S. officials work to finalize trade deal after new tariffs paused

What we learned today about the Canada-U.S. trade deal in the works

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.