Talks between Canada and the United States to reduce sectoral tariffs have resumed “in a sense,” Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump suspended them last fall.

“We were in the process of advancing, we thought, in a positive way on the sectoral tariffs — that was the discussion that Mr. Trump suspended,” LeBlanc told reporters in Ottawa.

He then pointed to his meeting on March 6 in Washington with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, where the Canadian minister introduced Greer to chief U.S. trade negotiator Janice Charette and U.S. Ambassador Mark Wiseman — both of whom began their new roles last month.

LeBlanc said Charette also had her first meeting with her direct counterpart in Greer’s office at the same time.

“So in a sense, that would have been the resumption of those conversations,” LeBlanc said, adding more conversations have been held between himself, Wiseman and Charrette with their U.S. counterparts.

“We remain seized both with the challenge that the sectoral tariffs represent and the review of CUSMA (the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade),” which is set to formally begin in July between all three countries.

The bottom line, LeBlanc said later, is that Canadian talks with U.S. counterparts “remain productive and we remain engaged. That is different than October.”

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Trump in October suspended talks aimed at reducing his tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and other Canadian industries in anger over an Ontario government ad that quoted former U.S. president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

Prime Minister Mark Carney apologized to Trump personally for the ad, but Trump said the trade talks remained on hold.

Before the suspension, LeBlanc said Canada and the U.S. had been discussing “a series of measures that we thought would have been beneficial to the economy of both countries, and we continue to have those discussions and look forward — we hope — to arriving at a conclusion.”

Greer has since suggested difficulties in talks with Canada and complained about ongoing trade barriers, including provinces refusing to sell American alcohol products.

He said this month after the meeting with LeBlanc that “Canada is behind” on bilateral talks leading up to this summer’s CUSMA review compared to Mexico, which has already begun formal negotiations with the U.S.

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LeBlanc said Monday he expects Canada to begin its own negotiations with the U.S. “in due course” and that those will be separate from the trilateral talks expected later this year.

He said he has discussed the U.S. alcohol issue with premiers and provincial and territorial ministers, but wouldn’t speak for whether they are considering lifting the bans to help smooth things over with Washington.

“They can make the decisions they want,” he said.

“All the provinces and territories and the government of Canada have been working collaboratively to ensure that we protect the Canadian economy and Canadian workers. And we’re in a position to have those discussions with the Americans in a way that will benefit the Canadian economy and Canadian workers.”

Asked if Canada’s position on the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran has affected the talks in any way, LeBlanc said it hasn’t.

“The good news is in my conversations with U.S. officials, this has not been an impediment at all,” he said.

“I know in the prime minister’s discussion with the president a few weeks ago … to say that that was a barrier or an impediment, or even the idea of a ‘changing position,’ I wouldn’t share that view either.”

He added neither Charrette or Wiseman have raised Iran as an issue that’s come up in their conversations with the Americans either.

The sectoral tariffs remain in place despite the U.S. Supreme Court striking down Trump’s tariffs that were imposed under a different, emergency powers provision the court ruled Trump has misused.

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A Republican bill introduced Thursday takes aim at Canada’s Online Streaming Act and threatens retaliatory measures for the “discriminatory” policy, including additional tariffs and even changes to the North American free trade agreement.

The legislation from U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania would launch a U.S. Trade Representative investigation into whether the Canadian law unfairly burdens American commerce.

If that conclusion is reached, the bill orders “necessary retaliatory action” such as tariffs or “the suspension, withdrawal, or modification of trade agreement concessions or benefits to Canada under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement,” referred to in Canada as CUSMA.

“Digital trade plays a critical role in America’s economy, supporting high-paying jobs and exporting American values,” Smucker said in a statement.

“Canada’s unfair policies stack the deck against U.S. companies, creators, and workers. This bill would protect American creators and companies while permitting mutually beneficial competition and innovation.”

The statement includes supportive quotes from leaders of the Motion Picture Association and other U.S. digital media and communications groups.

The Online Streaming Act was passed in 2023 and would empower the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to force large foreign platforms like Netflix and Amazon to pay a portion of their annual Canadian revenues into funds devoted to producing Canadian content.

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The policy has yet to be implemented while the CRTC seeks to finalize an updated definition of Canadian content, which is being challenged in court.

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U.S. streamers and the Motion Picture Association have filed court challenges against the Online Streaming Act, as well as the CRTC’s requirement that those companies disclose financial information in order to ensure the Canadian content funding obligations are met.

The Trump administration has identified the law as a trade irritant ahead of this summer’s scheduled review of CUSMA.

Smucker and a bipartisan group of U.S. House lawmakers sent a letter to the Canadian government last November calling for the policy to be withdrawn.

Pressure from the Trump administration last year led Ottawa to rescind its digital services tax that would have applied to a wider swath of U.S. tech companies for operating in Canada.

Ottawa has argued the Online Streaming Act is necessary because of U.S. streamers’ outsized presence in the Canadian market. But the companies and U.S. lawmakers say American platforms shouldn’t be unfairly burdened with foreign taxes and spending requirements.

Smucker’s bill argues that Canada’s use of a cultural exemption under CUSMA to enact the policy undermines the trade agreement and is based on outdated definitions.

The offices of Culture Minister Marc Miller, whose ministry is responsible for the Online Streaming Act, and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The bill would trigger an investigation under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act, which allows a president to impose tariffs to counter unfair trade practices.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said Section 301 will be used to replace many of the tariffs that were imposed using emergency powers, but were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month.

The Trump administration this month announced Section 301 investigations into dozens of countries, including Canada, over allegations of forced labour and excess manufacturing capacity.

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The majority of Canadian exports will remain exempted from Donald Trump’s new 10 per cent global levy, as the U.S. president pivots after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to his plans to realign global trade.

A fact sheet from the White House said the latest tariff will not hit goods compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade, known as CUSMA.

The duty will also not be applied on top of sector-specific tariffs like steel, aluminum and automobiles.

Trump signed an executive order Friday to enact the worldwide tariff beginning on Tuesday using Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. That duty can only stay in place for 150 days, unless Congress votes to extend it.

“Those members of the Supreme Court who voted against our very acceptable and proper method of TARIFFS should be ashamed of themselves,” Trump posted on social media.

“Their decision was ridiculous but, now the adjustment process begins, and we will do everything possible to take in even more money than we were taking in before!”

0:42
Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s global tariffs

Earlier Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded it was not legal for Trump to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, better known as IEEPA, for his “Liberation Day” tariffs and fentanyl-related duties on Canada, Mexico and China.

Trump declared an emergency at the northern border related to the flow of fentanyl in order to use IEEPA to hit Canada with 35 per cent tariffs. Those duties did not apply to goods compliant under CUSMA.

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In a 6-3 ruling, the court said the U.S. Constitution “very clearly” gives Congress power over taxes and tariffs. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote “the Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch.”

The ruling did not say whether companies hammered by those tariffs should get refunds. As of December, federal data showed US$133 billion had been collected.

The court’s decision “reinforces Canada’s position that the IEEPA tariffs imposed by the United States are unjustified,” said Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc in a post on social media.

“While Canada has the best trade deal with the United States of any trading partner, we recognize that critical work lies ahead to support Canadian businesses and workers who remain affected by Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and automotive sectors,” LeBlanc said.

During a 40-minute press conference Friday afternoon, Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court justices and said the decision was “incorrect.” Trump also denigrated Europe as too “woke” and took aim at Canada, saying the country ripped off the U.S. and stole car plants.

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Trump claimed that Canada said it hoped he would win at the Supreme Court “because if you don’t win you’ll actually be able to charge us, with additional work, higher tariffs.”

LeBlanc spoke with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer by phone recently. When asked for comment on Trump’s claim about Canada, LeBlanc’s office referred to his social media statement.

Greer told “Fox News” Friday that while the 10 per cent tariff is in place, the Trump administration will begin investigations of countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

That allows a president to take trade actions if the investigation finds a trading partner’s policies are unreasonable and discriminatory, but it would take months and include a period for public comment.

Friday’s ruling will have little effect on the Canadian economy since most of its exports to the U.S. are shielded by the CUSMA carveout, said CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld.

Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said it’s “not the last chapter of this never-ending story.” She cautioned that Canada should prepare for “new, blunter mechanisms to be used to reassert trade pressure.”

Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation have rattled Canada ahead of a mandatory review of the CUSMA trilateral trade pact later this year. Trump has called the trade agreement “irrelevant” and said it may have served its purpose.

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A successful CUSMA review must see Trump’s separate sectoral tariffs dropped, said Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in a social media post.

Poilievre criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney for not securing a deal with the Trump administration.

“The truth is no one can control what President Trump will say or do and so we must instead focus on what we can control,” Poilievre said. “We must unblock our energy and minerals, unleash our economy, and bolster our military and self-reliance for leverage to fight for tariff-free trade with the U.S.”

The Supreme Court’s decision is a win for U.S. separation of powers and the American and Canadian economies, said George Mason University law professor Ilya Somin, who represented small businesses pushing back on the tariffs.

“But also for the rule of law,” Somin told The Canadian Press. “The rule of law is at odds with a system under which the president can impose any tariffs he wants on any country for any reason at any time.”

—With files from Craig Lord, Kyle Duggan and The Associated Press

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