US-Canada trade deal not as ‘close’ as portrayed

A US-Canada trade deal is likely not as imminent as some US officials indicated over the weekend.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that negotiators were “very close” to reaching an agreement that would ease the countries’ tit-for-tat tariffs on an array of goods, a sentiment President Donald Trump later echoed.

But a person close to the talks threw cold water on that assessment, telling Semafor that “there is always the possibility of a deal if positions change.”

Canada is also characterizing it differently: “Canada remains in constructive dialogue with our US counterparts on a range of priorities,” a spokesperson for Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc told Semafor. “We stand ready to work constructively and in good faith towards a more mutually beneficial trading relationship that respects Canada’s interests.”

A White House official pointed to Trump’s remarks Friday that Canada “is working very hard” to strike a trade deal with the US, which he said has “all the cards.”