Canada-U.S. trade minister heads to Washington next week to talk trade

Canada-U.S. trade minister Dominic LeBlanc heads to Washington next week to talk trade, ahead of the July 1 deadline for a review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade deal (CUSMA).

Ahead of the trip, LeBlanc tells CTV News he had a one-hour video meeting Monday with United States Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer. The Canada-US. trade minister said they were also joined by Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator to the U.S., Janice Charette.

LeBlanc told CTV News about the meeting and the upcoming visit but didn’t share further details as to what’s on the agenda or when he will be in the U.S. capital.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney, meanwhile, heads to New York on Wednesday.

Asked if he expects any movement on Canada-U.S. trade issues from that trip, Carney categorized his visit as “not a trade mission in that sense.”

The prime minister said he is focused on meetings with investors in the private sector who are already investing or interested in investing in Canada.

In terms of the bigger U.S.-Canada trade picture, Carney referenced “ongoing conversations” LeBlanc is having with Greer and mentioned “upcoming meetings” the minister will have, but didn’t elaborate.

LeBlanc was last in Washington to discuss trade in March.

The U.S. has made clear it has a number of irritants in trade discussions, including supply management policies, especially concerning dairy, the banning of American alcohol by most provinces, and the Online Streaming Act. That last issue was just made pricklier by a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision requiring streaming companies to pay three times as much (15 per cent) of their Canadian revenue to support Canadian content.

Canada, meanwhile, has been pushing back on punishing tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles and forest products.