The United States wants to continue the “fair trade” with Canada, but says that its objective is “to eliminate the status quo” from commercial measures, it says it restrict US exports, US Secretary to Trade Howard Libenick said in a statement on Thursday after meeting Canadian officials.
The Minister of Finance Dominic Leblanc, the Prime Minister of Ontario Doug Ford, the Minister of Industry François-Philippe Champagne and the Canadian ambassador to the United States, Kirsten Hillman, met Larick and the US sales representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday.
Lutnick said in a reading published Thursday evening: “By establishing balanced and fair relations that eliminate the current status quo of crushing trade deficits and crushing foreign restrictions, the Trump administration will help American, large and small, prosperous, prosperous businesses on the world market.”
The United States’s trade deficit with Canada is due to the high energy needs of the US economy.
Without Canadian energy exports, the commercial relationship is reversed. THE We have a trade surplus of around 60 billion dollars In his relationship with Canada, when you do not count energy exports.
Lutnick said the two parties have discussed the prices of steel and aluminum by American president Donald Trump and “the objective of his fair trade administration with Canada and the Ontario province, while working to secure the American border and eliminate fentanyl”.
Get daily national news
Get the best news of the day, the titles of political, economic and current affairs, delivered in your reception box once a day.
According to Canadian federal data, Less than one percent of fentanyle entering the United States comes from Canada.
Data from the American customs and border protection agency shows that in January, fentanyl convulsions on the Canadian-American border have dropped to their lowest levels since 2023, with less than 14 grams seized during the month. More than 19 kilograms of Canada fentanyl were apprehended during the last financial year.
Lutnick said that he and Greer “underlined the Trump administration’s unshakable commitment to continue fair trade and the potential role of Canada in these efforts. The two countries have recognized the strength and history of their relationship.”
Thursday’s discussions closed a dramatic week In which Ford imposed on a 25% burden on Monday on Monday on all the electricity sold in its province in New York, Minnesota and Michigan, in retaliation for American prices on Canada imposed earlier in the month.
Trump then threatened to double the price incoming for Wednesday on steel and aluminum at 50%, compared to 25%. A few hours later, Ford said that the energy overload would be interrupted after a meeting with Lutnick.
Trump’s steel and aluminum rates started at 25%Thursday morning, as is 29.8 billion dollars in additional Canadian reprisals.
Ford said the meeting with US officials on Thursday was “productive”.
& Copy 2025 Global News, A Division of Corus Entertainment Inc.