The Front Bench panel discusses the threat of new U.S. tariffs over forced labour concerns and whether they\u2019re legitimate. <\/p>\n
Asked Friday about Canada\u2019s free trade negotiations with the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney said \u201cthere are bad deals\u201d that have been on the table for Canadian industries \u201cfor months.\u201d <\/p>\n
Canada is in the midst of talks surrounding its trilateral trade negotiations with the U.S. and Mexico. Those conversations have been under increased pressure due to U.S. President Trump\u2019s tariffs on a range of imports from key Canadian industries.<\/p>\n
CTV News\u2019 Abigail Bimman asked the prime minister why he did not raise trade with the American president during their phone call earlier this week<\/a>. Carney said the call was focused specifically on security issues.<\/p>\n CTV National News: PM reinforces that Canada and U.S. are nowhere close in CUSMA talks CTV News Chief Correspondent Vassy Kapelos explains the key takeaways from PM Carney\u2019s call with U.S. President Donald Trump, including the absence of any CUSMA <\/p>\n She asked him to speak directly to Canadians in industries affected by U.S. tariffs. \u201cThere are bad deals that have been on the table for those industries for months,\u201d said the prime minister, without providing specifics.<\/p>\n Carney has said he\u2019s comfortable waiting to<\/a> sign a deal<\/a> if it means a better turnout for domestic industries. He reiterated that on Friday, saying his team would not accept a deal that \u201cdamages\u201d those industries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in active discussions with the U.S.,\u201d Carney also said, noting Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will meet with his American and Mexican counterparts on July 1 \u2013 the deadline for the three countries to indicate whether they want to renew the deal outright or launch a review process.<\/p>\n That date is less than a week away, but officials are still far from securing an agreement.<\/p>\n At least, that\u2019s according to Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, who told CTV News in an exclusive interview<\/a> earlier this week, \u201cWe\u2019re not anywhere close to announcing any type of a framework or an interim agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n Canada and U.S. \u2018not anywhere close\u2019 on new CUSMA framework: Hoekstra U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra discusses the state of negotiations ahead of the nearing July 1 CUSMA deadline. <\/p>\n \u201cI really think it\u2019s in the hands now, on our side, it\u2019s going to be the president, and I\u2019m assuming on the Canadian side it will be the prime minister, to determine what the next steps are and directionally, where we\u2019re headed,\u201d Hoekstra said.<\/p>\n Canada and Mexico have both already formally declared they want to seek a 16-year extension of CUSMA<\/a>, or the Canada-U.S. Mexico Agreement, but the U.S. position remains unclear.<\/p>\n