Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaks with reporters at the White House, on March 13, in Washington.Alex Brandon/The Associated Press
Ontario’s trade representative in Washington says a high-stakes meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary helped Canadian officials better understand why the Americans are pursuing a global tariff strategy and what that country plans to do next, an outcome he believes will benefit Canada in the continuing trade war.
David Paterson was among the dozen attendees at Thursday’s 90-minute meeting in Washington with Howard Lutnick, which also included Ontario Premier Doug Ford and federal ministers Dominic LeBlanc and François-Philippe Champagne, who were named to key roles Friday in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet.
Mr. Paterson said the province secured the meeting with Mr. Lutnick to gain insight into why the U.S. is enacting tariffs and where Mr. Trump is going with his plan. He said the goal was also to get more meetings – including one now planned with Canadian officials next week – and that the results “far surpassed” its objectives.
“The first half-hour was a masterclass from the Commerce Secretary,” Mr. Paterson said in an interview with The Globe and Mail on Friday.
“It was compelling, it was respectful, it was insightful, and it really helped lower the temperature on both sides,” he said, adding that Mr. Lutnick “also genuinely listened to the Premier.”
Mr. Paterson, a former senior executive at General Motors Canada, said the discussion helped put the tariff policy into context in terms of what the U.S. is trying to achieve. He said that includes cutting taxes without further increasing the $2-trillion annual deficit; getting spending under control; and instituting global tariffs – or what the Americans are calling trade policy.
“Those things work together and what they’re basically saying is ‘We want you to understand that,’” Mr. Paterson said. “And the best response from our perspective is, ‘We get that. We get it.’”
The meeting with Mr. Lutnick came on the heels of a tense week between the Canadian government and Mr. Trump’s administration. Canadian officials had expressed hope for resetting the crucial trading partnership after days of tariffs and countertariffs being threatened, imposed and walked back.
Canadian officials project calm after tariff meeting in Washington
The meeting was arranged after Mr. Ford initiated a 25-per-cent electricity surcharge on three states. As a result, Mr. Trump threatened to double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 per cent, but then reverted to 25 per cent after Mr. Ford paused the surcharge. The federal government on Wednesday retaliated against the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, announcing counterlevies on $29.8-billion worth of U.S. goods.
Mr. Lutnick, a bombastic former Wall Street titan who profited off of borderless capital markets, has been a vocal supporter of across-the-board tariffs against Canada. In the hours and even minutes leading up to Thursday’s meeting, he was on American cable TV networks for a series of interviews in which he criticized Canada’s retaliation as “tone deaf” and suggested Canada had not been respectful or thankful enough of the United States.
Mr. Trump has also repeatedly threatened “reciprocal tariffs” beginning on April 2. A source who attended the meeting said Canadian officials still expect the U.S. to unveil a wide-ranging global trade and tariff policy in April, but there is now a better understanding of how Canada might gain exemptions once tariffs are instituted. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source as they are not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting.
The April tariffs will likely focus on specific sectors the U.S. is hoping to grow, such as steel and aluminum, auto, forestry and tech, the source said. The Americans also pointed to China as a foe in the trade fight, the source said, and recognized Canada as a friend.
Ontario’s electricity surcharge is still an option, the source said, but it would not necessarily be the first step if more tariffs are put in place. Instead, the goal is to be the first in line to gain exemptions from U.S. tariffs, the source said.
Following the meeting on Thursday, Mr. Ford called it “extremely productive” and civil, and Mr. Champagne said it was a “constructive discussion,” adding Mr. Carney’s installation as Prime Minister has the potential to reset the Canada-U.S. relationship.
Speaking to reporters after his swearing-in at Rideau Hall on Friday, Mr. Carney said he does not yet have plans to meet with Mr. Trump but will be travelling to London and Paris next week to shore up economic ties in Europe.
Mr. Paterson likened Mr. Lutnick’s economic moves to the cost-saving measures of the previous federal governments of Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien.
“What he’s doing is what Martin and Chretien did on steroids, in terms of fiscal management. But it helps enormously, from my perspective as a former business dude, to hear that and to understand the context of what they’re trying to do,” Mr. Paterson said.
“It’s all in plain sight. It’s just separating signal from noise again. And we had 90 minutes of signal and very little noise.”
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