By David Shepardson and David Lawder
WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Canada cannot accept a trade deal with the U.S. unless it ensures the survival of a robust Canadian auto assembly and parts industry, Canada’s ambassador to Washington said on Thursday, giving no indication when talks may resume.
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“We need to have those capabilities in Canada. We need to have those jobs in Canada. It makes up a huge part of our industrial complex, both in Ontario and Quebec,” Ambassador Mark Wiseman told Reuters in a phone interview on Thursday.
“From the Canadian perspective, the preservation of a robust assembly and parts industry in Canada is critical.”
President Donald Trump ordered 50% tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian goods on Friday after trade talks collapsed. Unresolved issues included whether to cut tariffs on medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
Canada has responded with $20 billion in tariffs that will take effect September 8. Trump’s new tariffs hit sectors including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment.
The duties do not exempt Canadian products under a three-nation trade deal that also includes Mexico and has shielded most Canadian exports to the U.S. in the last 18 months.
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“We will continue to talk so long as talking and negotiation is producing positive momentum. So we’re not picking up our toys and going home, but we have a plan. We have resolve,” Wiseman said, adding he is an optimist that a deal will get done. “We’re not moving out of the neighborhood, neither is the United States.”
He said the tariff targets for Canadian retaliation were not picked with an eye toward the U.S. congressional elections in November. Asked if Canada is considering more drastic measures, Wiseman said Canada “will preserve all options.”
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday defended the Canada trade talks. He told reporters, “Canada was going to have the best trade deal in the world.” He said Canada did not raise the issue of tariff relief for medium- and heavy-duty trucks until the final hours of talks on Friday.
Lutnick said the U.S. viewed those vehicles differently.
“It’s a whole different category. It was never raised. These were things they fit in order to make it end,” Lutnick said.
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(Reporting by David Shepardson and David Lawder; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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