With President Donald Trump’s August 19 tariff deadline just days away, Canadian negotiators have remained in Washington trying to avert a show-stopping escalation in the trade war. But despite the rightful attention, these are not yet CUSMA renegotiations. They are a narrower — and increasingly urgent — battle over steel, aluminum, autos, alcohol, dairy and other irritants.
Will Trump delay the new tariffs while talks continue? Does Canada have more leverage than generally thought? And if the deadline passes without an agreement and perhaps with new tariffs, should Canada continue trying to grind it out, walk away or retaliate?
Andrei Sulzenko, a principal negotiator of the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement, Marta Morgan, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Senator Peter Harder, also a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, join host Allan Gregg to discuss Canada’s options at the tariff cliff—and why the real CUSMA negotiations may be better left for later.
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