Two days before U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline to finalize trade negotiations, Canada hasn’t\u00a0closed a deal with the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney said.<\/p>\n
“It is possible that [negotiations] may not conclude by the first of August,” Carney said at a news conference on Wednesday. “But we’ll see with the teams there. We’re working hard.”<\/p>\n
Trump set an Aug. 1 deadline for Canada to reach a trade deal and has threatened to impose a 35 per cent tariff<\/a> on goods that don’t comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).<\/p>\n That rate would apply to Canadian exports currently being tariffed at 25 per cent, under Trump’s emergency powers, citing what he says is a national security threat from fentanyl trafficking.<\/p>\n “The president has been very clear \u2026\u00a0that there are certain sectors that are strategic, in their judgment, to the United States’ economy: aluminum steel, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber,” Carney said.<\/p>\n The prime minister previously hinted that the Canadian government is in no rush to finalize a deal by Friday, saying last week that his objective is “not to reach a deal whatever it costs<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Monday, Carney said in P.E.I. that trade negotiations with the United States are at an “intense phase<\/a>.”<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Trump announced that the U.S. would levy a 50 per cent tariff<\/a> on copper products such as pipes and wiring, starting Friday.<\/p>\n The White House said it would apply only to semi-finished copper products and other products that heavily use copper when being manufactured.<\/p>\n Trump suggested last Friday that the U.S. might not reach an agreement<\/a> with Canada and that more tariffs could be in store for the country.<\/p>\n “I think Canada could be one where there’s just a tariff, not really a negotiation,” Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n