Top U.S. representatives told a Canadian delegation on Thursday that there was no way Canada, or any other country in President Trump’s cross hairs, could avoid a new round of sweeping tariffs on April 2, according to two people with direct knowledge of their conversation.
Any negotiations to remove some tariffs or even strike a more comprehensive trade deal would come after that date, American officials told their Canadian counterparts at a meeting in Washington, D.C. Mr. Trump, through an executive order, has ordered an in-depth examination of trade between the United States and several partners, including Canada, and the imposition of “reciprocal” tariffs beginning on April 2, to match surcharges other countries impose on U.S. goods.
The United States was represented in the meeting by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Canada was represented by Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Canada’s ambassador to the United States, Kirsten Hillman.
The Canadian officials left the meeting, which lasted more than an hour, with a clearer — but not necessarily more optimistic — sense of what lies ahead, according to two of them with direct knowledge of what transpired, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press about it.
While the Trump officials made clear their pledge on reciprocal tariffs, Mr. Trump has shown a repeated penchant for vowing to press ahead with tariffs only to decide at the last minute to back down or grant a reprieve.
The meeting was an effort to inject a calmer approach to the relationship between the two countries, even as Mr. Trump on Thursday continued to level threats against Canada’s sovereignty.
The Canadian officials said that Mr. Lutnick and Mr. Greer conveyed to them that the Trump administration is very committed to tariffs as a trade policy, and to using tariffs to redefine the United States’ relationship to the world. April 2, they were told, will be a major step in establishing this new doctrine.
Mr. Trump last month directed his advisers to come up with new tariff levels that take into account a range of trade barriers and other economic approaches adopted by America’s trading partners. That includes not only the tariffs that other countries charge on U.S. products, but also the subsidies they give their industries, their exchange rates, and other measures that the president deems unfair.
Mr. Trump has said he needed to take action to even out America’s “unfair” relationships and stop other countries from taking advantage of the United States on trade. But he has made clear that his ultimate goal was to force companies to bring their manufacturing back to the United States.
The Canadian officials were left with the impression that there was a willingness by the United States to brush off the negative reaction that financial markets have already had to the president’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.
The U.S. side explained that there was little Canada or any other nation could do to avert the coming tariffs on April 2. Instead, the administration was planning to go full steam ahead, and then, afterward, consider individual exemptions, changes or broader renegotiations on tariffs with specific countries, depending on market reactions.
After on-again-off-again threats of expansive tariffs, the United States now applies 25 percent surcharges on Canadian steel and aluminum as well as 25 percent on goods that do not comply with the existing trade agreement between the two nations. .
Economists believe the tariffs imposed so far, Canada’s retaliation against U.S. imports, and the overall atmosphere of volatility and uncertainty, could tip Canada into a recession this year.
A Trump administration official said that in the meeting on Thursday, Mr. Lutnick and Mr. Greer had highlighted the Trump Administration’s commitment to pursuing fair trade, and that both countries had recognized the strength and history of their relationship.
Mr. Lutnick has been meeting with numerous foreign officials to ensure that Mr. Trump’s message was heard and acted on accordingly, the U.S. official said. The Trump administration aimed to help U.S. companies prosper in the global marketplace by building balanced relationships, and eliminating trade deficits and foreign restrictions to trade, the official added.
Canadian officials are expected to return to Washington next week to talk with Mr. Greer, they said, and start focusing on more granular detail about addressing two key U.S. concerns raised in the Thursday meting: the digital services tax applied by Canada, and the question of quotas and surcharges on dairy products.
Canada imposes a 3 percent tax on revenues of online businesses, including social-media companies, online marketplaces and online advertising — industries that U.S. firms dominate. The tax has been a key complaint in the U.S.-Canada trade relationship since the Biden administration.
On dairy, Canada and the United States apply quotas and other measures limiting each other’s imports after a certain threshold of imports is reached. Mr. Trump has taken aim at this system, which he agreed to in 2018 as part of the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement into its successor trade deal, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement.
The officials in the Thursday meeting also said that there was a broader feeling that the tone of the talks could improve with the departure of Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who is being replaced on Friday by Mark Carney. Mr. Trump and Mr. Trudeau had fraught personal chemistry dating back to Mr. Trump’s first term.
“The temperature has come down,” Mr. Ford told the news media as he left the meeting on Thursday.
“We leave Washington I think better equipped in making sure we can defend Canadian interests,” Mr. Champagne, the industry minister, added.
Ana Swanson contributed reporting from Washington.
