“Canada – USA Tariff Wars”

For the past year and a half Canadians’ attitude toward Mark Carney might best be described as one of deference.

Where he leads, they more or less said, we will go. We aren’t sure how to handle Donald Trump but we have confidence that Carney will make the right calls. Poll after poll confirmed it: in Mark we trust.

But as Canada faces its latest showdown with Trump, with the prospect of 50-percent tariffs being imposed next week, I sense something important has changed. The public mood is shifting — and it’s shifting in ways that will make it even more difficult to get a deal.

OTTAWA – United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. will not tolerate retaliation from Canada but is hopeful Canadians may take a more conciliatory approach.

“If a country retaliates against us, we’re obviously not going to tolerate that,” said Greer, during a press conference in Des Moine, Iowa, on Friday. “We’ll take action. My sense is the Canadians, they want to have a more conciliatory approach, but we’ll see.”

Should be a fun ride ahead.

Industry insiders say companies are opting to wait and see as the clock ticks down on U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff deadline, rather than rushing shipments across the border to beat the buzzer.

A new round of 50 per cent tariffs on nearly US$20 billion worth of Canadian goods ranging from dairy to down jackets is set to take effect Aug. 19.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said both U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney will now be given “options” following trade talks between Canadian and U.S. trade officials on Thursday.

Greer, who spoke to CBC News exclusively following the talks, called the meetings “good” and “cordial.”

Following the meeting, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters he would “continue to do the work Canadians expect us to do.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Canada’s trade negotiators are racing to avert 50 per cent tariffs on hundreds of Canadian exports, imposed under the never-before-used Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and scheduled to take effect on Aug. 19.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Chief Negotiator Janice Charette are reportedly working with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s team on a deal to present to Trump early next week, aiming to avert the Section 338 tariffs and secure relief from Section 232 tariffs that have battered the lumber, aluminum and steel industries

Prime Minister Mark Carney has the luxury of vacationing in Tuscany as our U.S. relationship crumbles to dust but Canadians should buckle up for a rough ride.

Trade negotiators on both sides are reported to be working feverishly on a Canada-U.S. interim trade deal before Donald Trump’s new tariffs come into effect next Wednesday.

OTTAWA – Experts are warning that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened new set of tariffs could drive wedges between Canadian provinces, allowing the U.S. to exploit regional grievances to force trade concessions.

The tariffs would have particularly heavy impacts on industries concentrated in B.C. and in small towns across Quebec.

“There’s an awareness that Canada can be a punching bag for the United States, but different parts of the country can be treated differently,” said University of British Columbia political scientist Stewart Prest.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Canada is less than a week away from 50 per cent tariffs taking effect on nearly US$20 billion worth of exports to the United States, after the White House invoked the never-before-used Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose duties on more than 400 Canadian products beginning Aug. 19.

Trade watchers said the move was designed to create leverage and force Ottawa back to the negotiating table. Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Chief Negotiator Janice Charette have heeded the call, repeatedly showing up for meetings in Washington in recent weeks to try to head off the 338 tariffs and reach a deal on the Section 232 sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum, and lumber.

Canadian trade officials are meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington once again, as both sides hustle to lock down a crucial trade deal ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s pressing tariff deadline.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s office confirmed to CBC News on Thursday morning that he and chief trade negotiator Janice Charette will meet with Greer this afternoon.

It will be the second meeting this week between the Canadian and American trade officials, and the fourth in just three weeks.

Canadian officials are weighing a proposal that would see Ottawa accept U.S. auto tariffs in exchange for a reduction on levies for vehicles compliant with USMCA, according to three sources on both sides of the border.

The proposal would also maintain an exemption for the value of American content in cars exported from Canada.

Canada’s lead trade negotiator with the U.S. Janice Charette has warned her American counterparts that if the White House imposes new 50 per cent tariffs on Aug. 19, it could put further trade talks at risk.

Industry sources tell CTV News there was no ultimatum given to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, but that he does understand the reality of the situation.

Charette’s comments were first reported by The Globe and Mail on Wednesday.

At Northern Cable, the machinery that churns out steel-clad cable runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The push isn’t driven by a flood of new orders. It’s driven by fear.

The Canadian company is rushing to fill warehouses across the United States. It is one of many businesses making goods in Canada for U.S. customers that now face pressure to move their factories south of the border to avoid President Trump’s 50 percent tariffs, which are scheduled to start next week, on their products.