Trade deal still 'pretty far off' as Canadian negotiators stay in Washington

“The good news is that we also heard there are lots of talks happening, multiple talks daily, and I don’t expect our negotiating team to have much of a weekend,” Laing told the Star late Friday.

She said the next few days will be “critical” as Canada attempts to secure a deal to prevent the imposition of new 50 per cent tariffs under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which Trump intends to slap on $28-billion worth of Canadian goods typically covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade pact. 

Laing also confirmed that further retaliatory measures, along with possible relief measures, are being discussed if a deal is not reached.

A source familiar with the state of the talks, who spoke to the Star on the condition they not be named, also said both sides remain “fairly far apart” on nailing down an agreement, adding that recent days of negotiations have not appeared to result in any breakthroughs.

The source, who also confirmed Canada was mulling over options for retaliation, noted there was less optimism regarding the nature of the talks than there had been in previous days.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canada’s chief negotiator Janice Charette briefed provincial trade ministers and members of Ottawa’s trade advisory council on Friday afternoon, with a second source telling the Star that LeBlanc advised provinces to be ready to lift their bans on American booze in the event of an agreement.

“I’d stress, though, that the ultimate decision to put alcohol back on the shelves rests with the premiers and will be reserved until they see a potential deal,” said the source, who spoke confidentially because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

“U.S. alcohol won’t go back on shelves overnight,” said the source, adding that would be “impractical” because the California wine and Kentucky bourbon, among other American products, are stored in warehouses across Canada.

Should any potential deal be undermined, then U.S. products — a source of “enormous leverage” — could easily be removed from Canadian liquor stores again, the insider said.

LeBlanc’s office declined to confirm any details shared in Friday’s briefings or on the state of discussions. 

According to a government readout summarizing the meetings, LeBlanc and Charette briefed ministers and council members on their recent meetings with United States Representative Jamieson Greer, “including addressing existing sectoral tariffs and avoiding the implementation of Section 338 tariffs.”

The pair “reiterated the importance of a unified, Team Canada approach,” the readout noted. 

Greer on Friday said the banning of American alcohol from Canadian shelves must be “resolved,” as he told reporters in Iowa on Friday that the fresh round of 50 per cent tariffs was set to be imposed as a result of the retaliatory measures Canada has taken against the U.S. 

“Those things have to be resolved because that’s the legal basis for those other tariffs,” he said. 

Among other irritants Greer named were what he called “unfair dairy treatment” by Canada under its supply management system, as well as procurement practices. 

At Queen’s Park, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy emphasized the province was seeking “a fair deal and a good deal that really supports the industries that have been impacted by … unjustified tariffs.”

“We need a deal that takes into account our steel industry, manufacturers, our auto sector, our lumber, and derivative products,” Bethlenfalvy told reporters, referring to existing U.S. tariffs on those strategic sectors. 

“So we need to see a good deal, a fair deal, hard-driven negotiated deal. We’ll have to see what the nature of that deal is,” he said, reiterating that Ontario’s ban on U.S. booze from LCBO stores, which was imposed in March 2025, would continue for now.

Canada is aiming  to strike a “comprehensive” deal with the Trump administration that would see the U.S. not move ahead with next week’s tariffs and lessen existing levies on steel, aluminum, autos and forestry products in exchange for Canada making concessions on a series of trade irritants. 

A source previously told the Star the Canadian side views Wednesday’s tariff deadline as a “cliff” and that retaliation would be likely in the event that no deal can be reached. 

Earlier this week, sources said both sides were hoping to present Trump with a proposal for him to greenlight by Monday — or potentially sooner. 

Speaking on Friday, Greer defended the trade action taken by the U.S. as being done out of a desire to support its domestic industries, saying it is not “Canada-specific.” 

“If a country retaliates against us, we’re obviously not going to tolerate that, we’ll take action,” he said. 

“My sense is, the Canadians, they want to have a more conciliatory approach, but we’ll see.” 

Speaking in British Columbia, Premier David Eby said he stands by the province’s decision to pull U.S. booze from the shelves and amend its procurement practices to veer away from the Americans. 

“We wish the federal government the best of luck at the table with this administration. We hope for resolution because it will lower prices for Americans and it will employ Canadians, and Americans as a result, and ultimately, I think that and I hope that is what everybody wants.”