Dominic LeBlanc (C), Canada’s minister in charge of US-Canada trade, arrives to meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the headquarters of the Office of the United States Trade Representative in Washington, DC, on August 20, 2026.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
The U.S. and Canada continued trade talks Friday, as the clock ticked down to reach a deal before President Donald Trump‘s new tariffs on hockey sticks, wine and other Canadian goods take effect.
As of 5:30 p.m. ET, negotiators in Washington had yet to emerge from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative with a final agreement in hand. If no deal is reached by 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday, the 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of imports will switch on.
Trump, when asked Friday afternoon if the two countries have reached a deal that would avert the looming duties, said, “I think so. We’ll see.”
“We have to take care of our farmers. Our farmers are very important to me,” Trump said before boarding Air Force One.
“The deal with Canada is moving along,” he added. “We should be able to have a deal with Canada.”
Trump’s latest comments differed from his declaration three days earlier that the U.S. and Canada “have a deal” that merely needed to be finalized.
Earlier Friday afternoon, Canada said it is still working to “resolve outstanding trade issues” with the U.S.
The “intensive discussions” are continuing “for the mutual benefit of both countries,” a spokesperson for Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s trade minister for the U.S., said in a statement after 1 p.m. ET.
LeBlanc and chief Canadian trade negotiator Janice Charette had arrived at Greer’s office around noon. LeBlanc did not speak to reporters on his way into the building.
The 50% retaliatory tariffs were initially set to kick in Wednesday — until Trump, in an eleventh-hour post on Truth Social, said he would postpone them for three days so Washington and Ottawa could finalize a tentative deal.
Trump’s post signaled that the agreement was all but complete, “subject to the finalization of documents.” But trade officials emerged from additional rounds of talks in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday without a final deal in hand.
“We’re very close,” LeBlanc told reporters Thursday afternoon. “We continue to make progress, and we’re going to stay here and do the work that’s necessary until we get to that point.”
He said that at that time Charette was still engaged in talks with Greer and other Trump administration officials.
“Canadians expect us to get a deal that’s in the economic interest of Canada and Canadian workers,” LeBlanc said.
Businesses have warned that the duties could cripple their sales and that the threat alone has already taken a toll.
Negotiators have been tight-lipped about the specifics of a deal, as well as the remaining sticking points. Trump’s existing tariffs on imports of Canadian steel, aluminum and lumber are a central concern, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the talks.
LeBlanc and his office have declined to comment to CNBC on how the metals tariffs factor into the negotiations.
Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. might agree to lower those duties and suggested that lower tariffs on Canadian autos might also be on the table. Trump has also suggested that the deal could revive Keystone XL, the planned oil pipeline from Alberta to Nebraska that was scrapped in 2021 by then-President Joe Biden.
The Trump administration has said that Canada has committed to lower its trade barriers on the U.S., without offering specifics.
Trump said Wednesday that Canadian tariffs “will be nonexistent for our farmers.” The looming 50% tariff threat was partly based on the administration’s allegation that Canada discriminates against the U.S. dairy industry. Canada has not confirmed Trump’s claim.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said in an X post Wednesday, “We are now moving towards an agreement that reinforces that Canadian advantage, including by securing the best terms in each of Canada’s most important strategic sectors and providing greater certainty about our future trading relationship.”
The looming 50% tariffs were invoked last month under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which lets the president impose duties in response to discrimination or unfair commerce. But the Great Depression-era law has rarely, if ever, been invoked, and it has been neglected for decades.
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