OTTAWA – Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is headed to Washington, D.C., this week for meetings, a spokesperson for his office tells CTV News. He’ll be joined by Canada’s chief trade negotiator to the United States, Janice Charette. The trip comes amid new tensions in the nearly 18-month trade war, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening another slate of tariffs last week, and Prime Minister Mark Carney saying the two leaders have agreed to intensify talks toward a modernized trade deal. LeBlanc’s press secretary would not specify which days the minister and chief negotiator will be away, or with whom they will be meeting. Last Monday, Trump signed an executive order 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, Trump 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 new levies are set to come into effect next month. The U.S. president has also threatened to slap additional tariffs on Canada for the wildfire smoke crossing the border into U.S. states. And, last week he accused Canada of having “disinvited” the U.S. to the formal opening ceremony for the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which links Windsor, Ont. with Detroit, Mich. The bridge has been at the centre of increased tension between Canada and the U.S. for months. Earlier this year, CTV News reported that both sides were trying to quietly negotiate an opening date after Trump complained in February that Canada was not treating the U.S. fairly on trade. Trump went on a lengthy tirade on social media that included the construction of the bridge as part of his grievance. Last week, after days of conflicting messaging surrounding the deal Ottawa and Washington struck to open the bridge, Carney admitted he could have better explained what was agreed upon. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), meanwhile, is also now subject to an annual review process, after the three countries failed to unanimously agree to a blanket renewal of the agreement earlier this month. Canada and the U.S. have yet to formally launch talks on that front, while the U.S. and Mexico are set to resume official trade talks in September. In a briefing with reporters last week, a senior Trump administration official described discussions between Canada and the U.S. as “substantive” but couldn’t put a timeline on when formal talks would begin. The topic of Canada-U.S. relations was also a main feature of conversation during the premiers’ meeting with the prime minister in Charlottetown last week. With files from CTV News’ Stephanie Ha
