Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke over the phone on the afternoon of Aug. 18, just ahead of new 50 percent U.S. tariffs taking effect on Aug 19.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed that the phone call between the two leaders took place, but did not provide any additional details such as what was discussed or whether an 11th hour deal to avoid the new tariffs can be reached.
Carney and Trump had also spoken on Aug. 17 about the same subject. Earlier that day, the prime minister told reporters that the two leaders would have a “good discussion about the opportunities together,” and that he would tell the president that Canadians were “masters in our own home.”
“Negotiations are very intense and delicate. This is not the time to talk about negotiations in public … We have options in Canada, here in Newfoundland, in Quebec, across Canada,” Carney added.
Trump issued three proclamations on July 20 to impose 50 percent tariffs on certain Canadian goods beginning on Aug. 19. The new tariffs will apply to certain Canadian alcohol, dairy products, honey, cement, wood and paper producers, hockey equipment, and dozens of other goods. The new tariffs will impact about five percent of Canada’s total exports to the United States, or around $28 billion worth of goods.
The White House has framed the new measures as a response to Canada’s dairy supply management, provincial bans on U.S. alcohol, and Canada’s counter-tariffs on U.S. autos. The U.S. government noted that the only countries that responded to Washington’s initial 2025 tariffs with counter-tariffs were China and Canada. Ottawa has said that it has removed most of its counter-tariffs, and that the remaining ones on autos, aluminum, and seel are in response to U.S. sectoral tariffs which Canada says violate the North American trilateral free-trade deal.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer recently said Canada must end its retaliatory measures in order to avoid additional tariffs, and said Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs were the “the kind of things that China would do.”
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canada’s chief trade negotiator Janice Charette have been in Washington to discuss trade between the two countries for the last few days. On Aug. 14, LeBlanc said in a social media post that he and Charette had updated the provincial and territorial Ministers of Trade, as well as to the Advisory Committee on Canada-U.S. Economic Relations, on the “latest developments in our trade negotiations with the United States.”
LeBlanc and Charette met with Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Aug. 17, and meetings have continued on Aug. 18.
