Canada hopes for agreements with the US on steel and energy

The Canadian government hopes to quickly conclude agreements on tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as in the energy sector, following a meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump, Argus Media reports.

Carney and Trump agreed to instruct their chief negotiators to agree on sectoral agreements, giving priority to steel, aluminum, and energy. This was announced after the meeting by Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian minister responsible for trade negotiations between the parties. According to him, the meeting was “successful, positive, and substantive.”

Trump defended his tariff policy, pointing to the existence of a “natural conflict” between Canada and the US in terms of shared industries, such as automobile manufacturing.

Carney’s visit took place amid pressure from the opposition, the public, and industrialists to ease tariffs and in the context of next year’s review of the trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada (USMCA). There are concerns in Canada about the prospects for the latter. After the meeting, Trump said he was open to revising the USMCA or concluding new agreements.

In the summer, the US raised its tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50%, and Canada introduced countermeasures of 25% on these American goods.

In July of this year, Canada tightened its tariff quota system for steel imports to soften the blow of US tariffs on its metallurgical industry. In addition, changes to public procurement rules and support for the industry’s transition to new business areas were envisaged.