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The US and Canada are “very close” to settling their tariff standoff, according to the White House.
“The negotiations have picked up; they’re gathering steam,” said Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, to Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing.”
President Trump had slapped a roughly 50% tariff on about $20 billion in Canadian goods such as beer, cheese and electronics in late August after negotiations between the countries broke down.
Canada then retaliated in kind.
“The Canadian election that just happened, including Alberta separating, made it so that it was essentially impossible to negotiate with the Canadians,” Hassett explained.
But “I think it’s very close to finally having a deal on that,” he added.
The trade war with Canada has rocked key US Senate races, including in Michigan and Maine during the run-up to the Nov. 3 midterms.
Trump has since announced plans to exempt an array of products such as paper material, machinery, plywood sheets and refrigeration equipment effective Oct. 30.
Last month, the president also exempted several other products such as road salt imports from Canada.
But he also added waste products to the tariff list, a move that had been pushed by Michigan Senate Republican hopeful Mike Rogers.
Trump, in addressing the timeline for a deal getting done, told Fox 2 Detroit, “It could be before the actual election.”
But he also noted that it could take months.
“I want to make the right deal,” Trump said. “I’m not a short-term person, I’m a long-term. When the deal is made, it’ll be a great deal for America.
“Canada has been making $90 billion a year off us for years and years. They’ve taken advantage of our country, but we’re getting close to a deal,” the president said. “I love Canada; I love everything about it — other than some of the leaders.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has clashed aggressively with Trump and meanwhile worked to strengthen Ontario’s ties with Europe. Carney has also used Trump as a political foil to reverse some of his predecessor’s more left-leaning policies.
The PM revealed last week that he spoke with Trump and is “ready to sit down and negotiate when the US is,” but underscored that he will only accept “a deal that’s in the interests of Canadians.”
Talks have been taking place between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his Canadian counterpart, Dominic LeBlanc.
“Almost above everything else that we’ve done at the National Economic Council has been working on Maine and Alaska fisheries because the Europeans set up a regulation that made it so that basically lobsters from Maine couldn’t go to Europe anymore,” Hassett said.
“President Trump was able to negotiate a sort of ceasefire with the Europeans so that the Maine fishermen can continue to ship stuff to Europe,” he said. “Maine fishermen, and especially the fishermen in Alaska, has been a key focus of this White House.”