Making concessions to get a trade deal when the public’s in a fighting mood

Making concessions to get a trade deal when the public’s in a fighting mood

Mark Carney has always faced a conundrum when it comes to making a trade deal with Donald Trump. There’s pressure to get a deal, but it would require concessions that come at a political cost.

Now that squeeze is even tighter. At a critical time.

Canada and the United States are talking about a deal again, after a long period when there weren’t really any serious negotiations going on.


Fighting mood? For what exactly?

The Liberal’s ruinous reign of harm?

The good old days were in fact very very bad days for Canadians starting with Trudeau.

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Trump’s new U.S. customs rules could upend Canadian exports

Trump’s new U.S. customs rules could upend Canadian exports

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Many Canadian exporters who have traded duty-free under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement are facing the threat of 50 per cent duties on their goods under Section 338 tariffs, which Washington is set to impose on hundreds of products starting August 19.

These firms may also need to increase their customs-bond coverage, which guarantees payment of duties and fees if an importer defaults, as higher tariffs increase the U.S. government’s exposure.

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Dairy farmers warn against concessions as U.S. tariff deadline looms

Dairy farmers warn against concessions as U.S. tariff deadline looms

OTTAWA — Canadian dairy farmers are warning against any concessions involving their sector as trade talks intensify with the United States ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline.

A new round of 50 per cent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods is set to take effect on Aug. 19. Unlike most of Trump’s other tariffs, these would have no exemptions for goods that comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade.


I wonder if Carney will throw the Cartel under the bus or surrender on some less politically contentious issue in a trade off?

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Poilievre tells Carney in letter to not concede to U.S. demands in tariff talks

Poilievre tells Carney in letter to not concede to U.S. demands in tariff talks

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is asking the prime minister to not concede to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands during trade negotiations.

Poilievre says in a letter to Mark Carney that Ottawa has given in to several of Trump’s demands in the last year, including getting rid of the digital service tax and removing counter-tariffs on the United States.

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Concession Carney faces his Neville Chamberlain moment

Concession Carney faces his Neville Chamberlain moment

As U.S. President Donald Trump’s Aug. 19 deadline approaches, Prime Minister Mark Carney is making concessions to keep looming tariffs at bay. This could prove to be a defining moment in deciding the fate of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, for the choices are stark: appeasement or defiance, with little room for maneuver in between.

The Globe and Mail has reported that a deal may be in the making in which the U.S. lowers – but does not remove – duties on steel and aluminum and perhaps autos and forest products. In exchange, Canada would remove retaliatory tariffs on autos and take action on other U.S. irritants such as alcohol and dairy.

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Alcohol, dairy and autos: What is and isn’t on the table in Canada-U.S. trade negotiations

Alcohol, dairy and autos: What is and isn’t on the table in Canada-U.S. trade negotiations

OTTAWA — The day after extensive trade talks between Canada and U.S. officials in Washington, D.C., details are emerging of where the give and take may be in ongoing negotiations.

Multiple industry sources tell CTV News they are cautiously optimistic that progress is being made toward a comprehensive bilateral agreement outside of the U.S. and Canada’s formal trilateral deal with Mexico.

But, they’re also warning against expectations that a deal will be made by a looming Aug. 19 deadline.

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Canada prepared to halt booze bans, meet other U.S. demands in exchange for tariff relief: sources

Canada prepared to halt booze bans, meet other U.S. demands in exchange for tariff relief: sources

The Canadian government is preparing to meet some U.S. demands — including ending bans on American alcohol sales — as trade talks heat up ahead of the latest tariff deadline, according to sources.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened a new 50 per cent levy on hundreds of Canadian imports by Aug. 19, citing complaints about provincial booze bans, dairy import quotas and the auto tariffs.

The Canadian side is willing to offer movement on those concerns, according to industry sources with knowledge of the negotiations. The Globe and Mail first reported on possible concessions.


Here’s the Original Globe Story Ottawa discussing trade concessions with the U.S. in return for some tariff relief, sources say

Canada and the U.S. are discussing a prospective deal in which Ottawa would agree to a long list of Trump administration trade demands in exchange for some relief on sectoral tariffs, as talks intensify ahead of another round of threatened American levies.

According to three industry sources with knowledge of the negotiations, the two sides have discussed in-depth proposals and traded written bargaining positions, but an agreement has not yet been reached. The Globe and Mail granted the sources anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks.


This ought to fun … agreeing to Washington’s interpretation of how dairy quotas should be allocated.

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Canada ready to ‘get tougher’ if U.S. trade deal isn’t reached before deadline, Carney says

Canada ready to ‘get tougher’ if U.S. trade deal isn’t reached before deadline, Carney says

Prime Minister Mark Carney is warning that Canada will get tougher with the United States if there is no agreement to avoid President Donald Trump’s latest threatened tariffs, which are scheduled to take effect this month.

Canada’s goal, Mr. Carney says, is to get all of Mr. Trump’s sectoral tariffs, including those on autos, dealt with.

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Trump says ‘nasty’ Canada ‘screwed’ U.S. with tariffs

Trump says ‘nasty’ Canada ‘screwed’ U.S. with tariffs

Canada’s top trade officials are headed back to the negotiating table Thursday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump extolled his tariff regime and lobbed insults against Canada.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette plan to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington today at 1 p.m. ET, less than 24 hours after Trump leered at Canada’s “nasty” leadership.

“I love tariffs, right? Because we’ve been screwed by tariffs used against us for years. By China, by Japan, by South Korea, by Germany, by everybody, by Canada,” he said to jeers from the crowd at the Red Rock Casino.

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The dairy sector is lobbying hard in USMCA talks. The government didn’t want you to know

The dairy sector is lobbying hard in USMCA talks. The government didn’t want you to know

Last year, when the federal government invited Canadians to share their views about the operation of USMCA, 5,143 stakeholders heeded the call.

In its summary of the findings, Ottawa noted that a cross-section of Canadian society – businesses, industry associations, unions, individuals, civil society and Indigenous groups – “voiced strong support for maintaining Canada’s supply‑management system for dairy, poultry, and eggs as a pillar of food sovereignty.”

But the actual submissions told a very different story – about a lopsided effort to influence policy.

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U.S. booze bans have done ‘nothing to move the needle’ on tariffs, U of T prof says

U.S. booze bans have done ‘nothing to move the needle’ on tariffs, U of T prof says

Keeping U.S. booze off of LCBO shelves has done “nothing to move the needle” on tariffs, a University of Toronto professor says, arguing that the province should drop the moratorium on American alcohol.

“The alcohol embargo has been in place at this point for almost a year-and-a-half. It has not moved the needle in any observable way,” Joseph Steinberg, a professor of economics at the University of Toronto, told Newstalk 1010 on Tuesday.

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25 states sue over Trump’s new tariffs, calling them ‘pretext’ to replace his old ones

25 states sue over Trump’s new tariffs, calling them ‘pretext’ to replace his old ones

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration Monday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February.

The United States last month imposed double-digit tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union, charging that they had not done enough to crack down on imports produced by forced labor. The new tariffs took effect just as the clock ran out on temporary tariffs President Donald Trump had turned to after the Supreme Court defeat.

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Doug Ford’s booze ban is hurting us, not the U.S.

Doug Ford’s booze ban is hurting us, not the U.S.

In March 2025, Premier Doug Ford ordered the LCBO to strip American alcohol from its shelves and wholesale catalogue in a bid to pressure Washington to drop its tariffs on Canadian exports. Last week, Washington answered. President Donald Trump announced 50 per cent tariffs on nearly $20 billion of Canadian goods, including our beer, wine and spirits, and cited the provincial alcohol embargoes as one reason. The policy was sold as leverage. It has become a liability. Ford should end it.

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Trump’s trade policies may lack logic, but they also reflect a serious paradigm shift

Trump’s trade policies may lack logic, but they also reflect a serious paradigm shift

There may be no more hazardous exercise for a Canadian newspaper columnist these days than attempting to interpret Donald Trump’s trade policies. To suggest that there might be some logic behind his moves to undo the rules of the global trading system that he insists have been skewed against the United States is to invite accusations of gaslighting on behalf of the most mendacious, immoral and incompetent U.S. President of the past 250 years.

Here it goes anyway.

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