By Promit Mukherjee
OTTAWA, Aug 20 (Reuters) – Top trade negotiators from Canada and the U.S. will meet for the second day running in Washington on Thursday in a bid to finalize a trade deal that could help reduce months of tariffs and counter duties.
Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the U.S., Dominic LeBlanc, is due to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 GMT), his office said. Canada’s chief trade negotiator, Janice Charette, will also attend the meeting.
LeBlanc and Greer met on Wednesday and reported significant progress toward a deal that would stave off a U.S. threat to impose extra tariffs starting on Saturday.
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand at the White House later on Thursday.
The meetings come as the U.S. and Canada close in on a deal under which Washington could reduce tariffs on Canadian-built cars and trucks as well as steel and aluminum, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
The proposed deal is expected to cut the top-line tariff on Canadian-built vehicles to 15% from 25% and halve tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 25%, the source said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Washington would make some tariff concessions and suggested that a deal would also remove Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods.
Prime Minister Mark Carney briefed Canada’s provincial premiers after LeBlanc’s meeting with Greer on Wednesday.
Some of the premiers later noted that Carney urged them to end a ban on U.S. alcohol, which is a particular irritant for Washington, if Canada manages to reach a deal with the U.S.
The U.S. and Canada, long-standing trading partners whose economies are deeply integrated, have been embroiled in a trade dispute since Trump imposed tariffs on imports of Canadian steel, aluminum and vehicles last year, prompting countermeasures from Ottawa.
Trump this week postponed until 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Saturday a new 50% tariff on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, citing progress in negotiations and a deal subject to finalization of documents.
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by David Ljunggren and Mark Porter)
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