OTTAWA — Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is back in Washington, his second trip to D.C. in as many weeks, amid a protracted trade war with the United States and renewed tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. He’s joined by Canada’s chief negotiator to the United States, Janice Charette, according to LeBlanc’s press secretary. Gabriel Brunet said LeBlanc and Charette are in Washington for “a series of trade-related engagements.” The trip comes as the trade war between Canada and the U.S. — kicked off when Trump imposed a slate of tariffs on Canadian goods — reaches the 18-month mark. LeBlanc and Charette were also in the U.S. capital last week, during which the Canada-U.S. trade minister attended the Friendship Day baseball game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals. In a post to social media after the fact, LeBlanc also said the two met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer while they were in town. Trump, meanwhile, signed an executive order late last month to impose a new 50 per cent tariff on some Canadian goods, including wine, hockey sticks and cement, for what his administration is characterizing as discriminatory trade policies. Namely, the president is taking issue with provincial bans on U.S. alcohol, supply management on dairy and certain tariffs and quotas on cars imported to Canada from the United States. Those levies are set to take effect in a few weeks. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is also now subject to an annual review process, after the three countries failed to unanimously agree to a blanket renewal of the agreement on July 1. Late last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he and Trump have agreed to intensify talks toward a modernized trade deal. But in an interview with Fox News last Tuesday, when asked about CUSMA and whether he’s looking to update it, Trump said: “I don’t care. I mean I don’t really want to. I’d rather be independent.” “Mexico and Canada need us, we don’t need them,” he also said, adding CUSMA is “not important for us.” With files from CTV News’ Stephanie Ha
