U.S. ambassador won't commit to new Canada-U.S. trade deal by July 21
Canada and the United States resumed talks on a new trade deal this week, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying he wants a new Canada-U.S. trade deal in place by July 21 or Canada will increase trade countermeasures.
'I'm not going to commit to a date. I wouldn't characterize it as tumultuous,' Ambassador Pete Hoekstra told CTV News Ottawa's Patricia Boal in an interview at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Ottawa on Friday.
'We're working through some things. We've got some things that we believe will make trade freer, fairer, and better for both countries.'
When asked if Canada will have to accept some level of tariffs on goods coming from Canada to the United States, Hoekstra said, 'President (Donald Trump) has made it clear, I think, every country is going to pay some level of tariff.'
'But the overall agreement, I think at the end of the day, is going to be good for Canada, and I think it's going to be good for America.'
Canada and the U.S. have been in trade discussions for months after Trump first imposed tariffs on Canadian goods in February. The U.S. has since imposed a series of sweeping and stacked tariffs on Canadian products, targeting a range of industries.
The U.S. temporarily ended trade talks with Canada last week over this country's digital services tax, but the federal government moved to drop the tax and negotiations resumed. Carney said the move to drop the tax was part of a 'bigger negotiation' for a final deal with the U.S.
Trump has said the U.S. government will start sending out letters to countries on Friday outlining tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States starting in August.
Hoekstra said the United States won't 'just send a letter' to Canada to outline a new trade agreement.
'Canada is one of our biggest trading partners. We're going to have an outline, we're going to have a deal that's articulated,' Hoekstra said.
The ambassador says it appears Carney and Trump have a 'very good friendship.'
'I think they regularly text, they regularly talk. And I think that's just very, very healthy.'
Hoekstra: 51st state rhetoric 'media driven thing'
The Canada-U.S. trade dispute and President Trump's rhetoric of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state have caused tensions in relations between the two countries since late last year.
In an interview with CNN International last month, Carney said he believed Trump is no longer interested in annexing Canada.
'He admires Canada,' Carney told CNN. 'I think it's fair to say, maybe for a period of time (he) coveted Canada.'
But Trump most recently brought up the idea again in a Fox News interview last weekend, saying, 'Canada relies entirely on the United States, we don't rely on Canada.'
Despite those comments, Hoekstra says Canada becoming a U.S. state hasn't come up in his discussions with Canadians, adding it's a' media driven thing.'
'If Canadians want to talk about it or dwell on it, that's their business,' Hoekstra said. 'But at the end of the day, that's a Canadian decision. That's not an American decision.'
The U.S. ambassador and U.S. Embassy are hosting a party to mark Independence Day celebrations, with approximately 2,000 people expected to attend.
Hoekstra said the trade dispute between Canada and the United States is no reason not to celebrate the relationship between the two countries.
'You have got to remember there are always irritants between friends. There are always discussions between friends, that's a good thing,' Hoekstra said.
'Friends should be able to be in a position to challenge each other. But just like today, we'll have it again next year. It will be a celebration of the deep ties that we have; personal ties, the business ties, military ties. We've done so many things together. We've prospered together.
'That is what we celebrate on Canada Day. That's what we celebrate on the Fourth of July, the long, enduring friendship. We celebrate that with our friends, with our family, and we celebrate it in each of our countries.'
With files from The Canadian Press and Reuters and CTV News producer Spencer Van Dyk
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