“Canada – USA Tariff Wars”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Vice-President JD Vance weighed in on the latest trade deal with Canada at a fundraising event Wednesday, saying Prime Minister Mark Carney tried to “out-tough” President Donald Trump while crediting his longtime friend Conservative MP Jamil Jivani as a helpful advocate for Canada.

In audio from the fundraiser in Southampton, N.Y., which was provided to The Canadian Press by a source who attended the private function, Vance said Carney is a “very sweet guy” and he gets along with him quite well.

But, Vance said, Carney “comes in and puffs his chest out and says, ‘I’m going to, like, out-tough Donald Trump.'”

h/t Shasta

This is not, by early appearances, the deal that Canada’s automotive sector wants or needs.

As trade negotiations entered crunch time this week, industry leaders warned with increasing urgency that Mark Carney could not afford to settle for a rumoured cut to U.S President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian-assembled vehicles that would still leave the tariffs too high for those cars to be profitable.

But, as of late Wednesday, as details of a tentative agreement started to leak out, that was what seemed to have happened.

If the new U.S.-Canada trade deal — details to come — revives the Keystone XL pipeline project, as U.S. President Donald Trump hinted in announcing the trade agreement had been reached, it would be a good deal for Canada.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney faces a tough political challenge to explain to Canadians why a deal that retains lower but punishing tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos and would put American booze back on Canadian shelves was the best trade deal he could reach with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, speaking in Banff, Alta., said the prime minister explicitly asked premiers to lift bans on U.S. liquor sales in provincial stores and allow American companies to bid on provincial contracts.

CBC don’t know much either

What’s on the table? Trump’s talk doesn’t sound quite like Canada’s

No one knows nuttin

On Tuesday, at the eleventh hour, Donald Trump announced that Canada and the U.S. have reached a tentative trade deal, and paused a scheduled 50 per cent tariff on Canadian goods for three more days.

On Wednesday morning, the development featured as the top story on most, if not all, major Canadian news websites, including Bloomberg Canada, CBC, Global News, CTV and here, at National Post. It was also the front page story in today’s Globe and Mail.

Interesting perspective

Trump paused the Canada tariffs.
The media sees a trade story.

We see the real one: transshipment smuggling, snow-washing, and a “geo-industrialization” strategy run by the Empire’s favorite central banker. Canada isn’t a partner. It’s an outpost. pic.twitter.com/Aez3GxRV5C

— Promethean Action (@PrometheanActn) August 19, 2026

h/t XC

U.S. President Donald Trump has delayed his new 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods after he said the two countries reached a tentative deal and that the Keystone XL pipeline “may be awoken from the grave.”

Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs have been delayed by three days.

Getting close but not much detail.

Did Carney promise to cover Quebec’s Dairy cartel losses with more of our money after opening the border to US product?

“The White House has publicly said Canada moved on three sectors, including dairy.

The U.S. had been pushing to change the rules on what dairy products can be sold into Canada tariff-free, and while talks continue, that change now looks likely.”

Canada dodged a tariff bullet at midnight — but Ottawa isn’t saying how it happened. Details of the new deal that spared the country crushing new tariffs are scant Wednesday morning.

What details are emerging come from the American side, which seems happy with the result, while Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government is saying little.

Will Dairy Cartel deliver soured milk?

U.S. President Donald Trump hinted that he may revive an old pipeline project that would export oil from Canada to the U.S. as part of a pending trade deal.

In a Truth Social post shared Tuesday night, Trump said he had suspended the 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods for three days, two hours before they were set to take place on Wednesday.

The deal, he stated, may include revitalizing the Keystone XL pipeline, a long hotly-contested project that has been in the works for almost a decade.

The use of upper-case letters and the exclamation point made it sound like a win.

But the subclause in the statement should give Canadians pause.

“Canada and the U. S. A, subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on social media late Tuesday night, just before 50 per cent tariffs were set to take effect.

TORONTO—California Merlots, Kentucky bourbons and Tennessee whiskeys are collecting dust in Canada as alcohol becomes a high-profile hostage of trade tensions with the U.S.

After President Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods last year, Canada’s provincial leaders hit back. The majority of provinces exercised their power over the distribution and sale of alcohol to pull U.S.-made wine, spirits and beer from most store shelves and stopped placing new orders.

While alcohol accounts for a tiny portion of the nearly $900 billion in trade between Canada and the U.S., few aspects of Canada’s response to Trump’s economic aggression have gotten under the skin of U.S. officials—while drawing broad support from the Canadian public—quite like the booze bans.

Prime Minister Mark Carney in a social media post struck a more optimistic note than he had a day earlier and suggested some kind of deal is imminent.

Congratulations Minister LeBlanc and Ambassador Greer for the significant progress in the Canada-United States trade negotiations.

Canada entered these discussions with the best overall trade terms. We are now moving towards an agreement that reinforces that Canadian advantage,… https://t.co/2X8axwEeiE

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 19, 2026

Few details but Trump keeps talking farmers and autos …

Trump says he’s brokered a ‘very good deal’ with Canada after pausing 50% tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump’s pause on his proposed 50 per cent tariffs against Canada brings “relief” for businesses, but the uncertainty over the trade relationship continues, some industry groups said.

“Let’s be clear: the tariff delay provides relief on both sides of the border. Businesses may not be closing up shop with this news, but an extension doesn’t bring the certainty that a signed interim deal would,” said Candaice Lang, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in a statement.

Trump sure thinks he has a deal!

Trump: “We’ve come to a deal with Canada … Canada was charging us tremendous tariffs. We no longer have any tariffs … it’s all subject to the finalization of documents” pic.twitter.com/0Sppuf1ffH

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 19, 2026

Trump’s prediction accuracy has been a bit light of late (Iran). This deal announcement may well prove premature.

My statement on ongoing Canada-U.S. trade negotiations: pic.twitter.com/rzWZJFYe8e

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 19, 2026

OTTAWA – Just under two hours before a 50 per-cent tariff was scheduled to hit Canadian goods, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Canada and the U.S. have reached a tentative deal and would hit pause on the new levies for a three-day period.

… In a statement to reporters late on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that “substantial progress has been made, although there is important work still to be done.”

… “The deal will include comprehensive market access for all American goods, economic security commitments, digital trade alignment, and many important provisions that will continue to protect our market and American workers, along with our Canadian partners,” according to a statement on social media by the office of the USTR.

No details as yet. Hints the deal may include 3rd Rail Dairy and Automotive.

For some Canadian businesses facing a 50 per cent U.S. tariff kicking in at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the pain is already being felt.

The new tariff, on $28 billion of goods ranging from hockey sticks to dairy products, electronics and wooden doors, is the latest salvo in a trade war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The mere threat of the tariff has already been enough to scare off some U.S. customers from continuing to place orders with Canadian suppliers, said Dan Kelly, CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Canada considering reduced tariffs on autos, metals to make U.S. trade deal: Sources

Motor Mouth: The trap Liberals are walking into in auto-trade talks