Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to discuss trade negotiations within the next few days, according to a Canadian trade negotiation representative on the 3rd local time.
Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian minister leading trade negotiations with the U.S., appeared on the CBS “60 Minutes” program and stated, “We believe there are options to lower some tariffs and provide greater certainty for investment.”
U.S. President Donald Trump accused Canada of responding with retaliatory tariffs in lieu of engaging in trade negotiations, leading to an increase in tariffs from 25% to 35% on August 1st.
However, the U.S. maintained tariff exemptions on goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), resulting in maintaining one of the lowest effective tariff levels among major trading partners.
Previously, the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on Canada in February, citing insufficient action against synthetic drug fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration.
The Bank of Canada estimated that considering the USMCA exempt goods, the effective tariff rate stands at about 5%.
Despite the increase in tariffs to 35%, Bloomberg estimated that the effective tariff rate would remain around 6-7% due to the USMCA.
Prime Minister Carney earlier expressed disappointment over the U.S. tariff increase, stating, “We will continue negotiations with the U.S. but are focusing on what we can control.”
[Photo source: AFP=Yonhap News]
■ To report:
▷ Call: 02-781-1234, 4444
▷ Email: [email protected]
▷ Search ‘KBS Report’ on KakaoTalk and add the channel
▷ Subscribe to KBS News on Naver and YouTube!