'No more caving': Poilievre's letter to Carney urges him not to concede to U.S. tariff demands | CBC News

Poilievre's letter to Carney: 'No more caving' to U.S. demands in trade, tariff talks

Canada prepared to halt booze bans, meet other U.S. demands to get tariff relief: sources

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to show some "backbone" as trade negotiations ramp up with the United States.

In a letter to Carney that was shared with reporters, Poilievre and his Canada-U.S. relations critic, Shuvaloy Majumdar, said Ottawa has given in to several of Trump's demands in the last year.

The pair cited scrapping the digital service tax, removing Canada's counter-tariffs and cutting the United States into a deal to share net toll revenue from the recently opened Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich.

Poilievre and Majumdar argued against Carney's previous claim that no deal is better than a bad deal by pointing to job losses in manufacturing-heavy Canadian cities that rely on cross-border supply chains.

"For the past year and a half, you have backed down to one American demand after another while getting nothing in return, with concession after concession," Poilievre tells Carney in the letter.

Canada weighs ending U.S. booze bans for tariff relief. Not so fast, say provinces

"Worse, you have lost ground with American tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum doubling and broadening and tariffs on lumber tripling."

Poilievre said Canadians deserve a "good deal" that includes zero tariffs on softwood lumber, an end to sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminum, a tariff-free auto pact and full exemption to Buy America rules on infrastructure projects at all levels of government.

"No more pursuing policies of a managed decline at home. No more caving."

Canada prepared to halt booze bans, meet other U.S. demands in exchange for tariff relief: sources

A new round of 50 per cent U.S. tariffs on a range of Canadian goods is set to take effect on Aug. 19. Trade talks between the nations have intensified ahead of that deadline.

The Conservatives reiterated their call to strengthen Canada's negotiating position with the creation of a strategic reserve of critical minerals, which would be open to countries that provide tariff-free access to their own markets.

Canada and Mexico both indicated last month that they want to see the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) extended for another 16-year term. The United States instead opted to let the agreement move to rolling annual reviews.

Dairy farmers urge PM against making concessions

The U.S. has cited the supply management system that protects Canadian dairy as a key trade irritant, and Trump has repeatedly complained about the level of U.S. dairy farmers' access to Canada's market.

Carney said Thursday his government is loyal to the supply management system as the group Dairy Farmers of Canada urged the government not to offer concessions regarding its industry in trade talks.

The dairy group has also said Canada has already made several concessions, only to be met each time with fresh demands.

U.S. senator says there's 'momentum' toward trade deal after LeBlanc meeting

According to industry sources who spoke to CBC News, the Canadian government is preparing to meet some U.S. demands — including ending bans on American alcohol sales — in exchange for tariff relief.

In addition to ending the booze bans, the Canadian side is considering lifting retaliatory tariffs on U.S. autos and making some changes on dairy, the sources said. They didn't say what changes were on the table in regards to the dairy sector.

In exchange, Canada is pushing for the U.S. to drop the new 50 per cent tariffs, as well as relief from the sectoral tariffs on industries such as steel and aluminum, and a joint announcement that talks on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) will resume in the fall.