Ford talks to Carney, premiers ahead of trade meeting in Washington

Doug Ford was spending Wednesday meeting with Canada's incoming prime minister and speaking to his fellow premiers ahead of a trip Thursday to Washington, D.C.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was spending Wednesday meeting with Canada’s incoming prime minister and speaking to his fellow premiers ahead of a trip Thursday to Washington, D.C., to talk trade with a top U.S. official.

Ford, federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, are set to meet with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who invited Ford amid a major ratcheting up – then down – Tuesday of the trade war between the two countries.

The U.S. has imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and aluminum imports effective Wednesday and the Canadian government announced tariffs on U.S. goods worth nearly $30 billion in retaliation.

Trump had threatened Tuesday to set the steel and aluminum tariff at 50 per cent in response to Ontario placing a surcharge on electricity it exports to three U.S. states, but both sides agreed to back off those moves after Lutnick offered the meeting.

Ford said he expects to talk about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement with Lutnick, but suggested he won’t walk away from it with any major moves on tariffs or trade.

“I want to make sure everyone understands the expectation is to go down there, build that relationship, talk about the USMCA,” he said Wednesday outside his office.

“We aren’t walking away with the USMCA, but for years being in business, it’s all about building the relationship, understanding what they require, what our needs are, and move forward.”

In several interviews with American cable networks, Ford has been pitching USCMA renegotiations as an alternative to tariffs to address any perceived trade imbalances. The agreement is soon up for review.