Canada and the United States remain far apart on a draft trade agreement even as negotiators intensify talks in Washington ahead of an August 19 tariff deadline. President Donald Trump has threatened new 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian imports, including goods that would otherwise receive preferential treatment under the USMCA, raising the stakes for Prime Minister Mark Carney and for deeply integrated North American supply chains.
Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is staying in Washington through the weekend after repeated meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Both governments have said they want an agreement, but major differences remain over autos, dairy, alcohol and U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. The dispute is increasingly about more than percentages: it is a test of whether a decades-old economic partnership can withstand a negotiating strategy built around escalating tariff pressure.
Canadian negotiators are staying in Washington through the weekend as the two countries struggle to bridge major differences before threatened 50% U.S. tariffs take effect.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia, killing at least 47 people as blocked roads and disrupted communications complicated rescue efforts near the epicentre.
The European Union deployed helicopters and water bombers to eastern Belgium as evacuations began and firefighters confronted a record blaze amid severe summer heat.
Afghanistan’s Taliban staged anniversary celebrations in Kabul while aid and rights organizations warned of worsening humanitarian conditions and the exclusion of millions of girls from education.
Moscow said its forces had captured 19 settlements during the summer campaign, underscoring continued pressure on Ukrainian defenses as the war grinds on.
Lebanon’s health ministry said 11 people, including children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes, the deadliest toll since June agreements brought a lull in Israel-Hezbollah hostilities.
Prolonged dry weather pushed sections of the Rhine to record-low levels, forcing businesses to move more freight by road and rail and adding pressure to Europe’s industrial economy.
Border workers’ unions said warnings were not adequately heeded before migrants again attempted mass crossings into the Spanish enclave, renewing pressure on European migration policy.
Tariff pressure intensifies as negotiators work through the weekend with an August 19 deadline looming.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake kills dozens and leaves rescuers struggling to reach the hardest-hit area.
EU aircraft join the fight against a record Belgian wildfire as heat and drought keep the continent on edge.
The Taliban celebrate five years in power while aid groups warn that humanitarian and rights crises are worsening.
Russia claims new territorial gains in the southeast as another summer of war brings no sign of a durable settlement.
The Rhine drops to another record low, disrupting freight and highlighting Europe’s growing water stress.
The Canada-U.S. trade dispute has moved into a more dangerous phase because the threatened tariffs would reach beyond the exemptions that have traditionally protected much of continental commerce under the USMCA. Canada and the United States remain closely bound by energy, auto, agricultural and industrial supply chains, so a sudden 50% tariff on additional Canadian goods would not stop at the border: costs and disruptions could travel through factories, retailers and consumers on both sides. Prime Minister Mark Carney therefore faces a difficult balance. Canada wants to preserve access to its largest export market without accepting terms that would hollow out its own leverage over autos, dairy, alcohol and strategic industries. Washington, meanwhile, is using the approaching August 19 deadline to press for concessions while Canada seeks relief from U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs. The fact that Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is remaining in Washington through the weekend shows how urgently both sides are searching for an interim arrangement. Yet the deeper question is whether an integrated North American economy can continue to function predictably when tariff threats themselves become a routine instrument of negotiation.