Canada and the United States have made significant progress in trade talks, but important work remains, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said, after US President Donald Trump announced a three-day postponement of new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
“Significant progress has been made, although important work remains“, Carney said in a statement released about an hour after Trump's announcement.
The US president said earlier that he was delaying the introduction of tariffs, as the United States and Canada have reached an agreement that is yet to be finalized in documents.
Trump and Carney spoke yesterday afternoon for the second time this week, and negotiators from both sides have been holding intensive talks for weeks.
“As this work continues, Canada remains focused on building a stronger, more independent and more competitive economy at home“, Carney also said.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the future agreement would include broader access to the Canadian market for US goods, commitments on economic security and convergence of digital trade rules.
In a document released by the White House, Trump said Canada had made commitments to address US concerns related to tariffs on dairy products, alcoholic beverages and cars. The US authorities did not provide further details, and the Canadian government did not confirm the content of the possible agreement.
The new US tariffs were to affect about $20 billion in Canadian imports and would apply regardless of whether the goods qualify for preferential treatment under the trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada (USMCA).
Among the contentious issues are also US tariffs on Canadian cars. According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the parties have discussed reducing them to 15 percent from the current 25 percent, as well as additional relief depending on the share of American components in each car.
Trump also indicated that the Keystone XL oil pipeline project, which was suspended in 2021, could be resumed, without giving further details.