Trump trade chief defends Trump tariffs on Canada, signals CUSMA talks

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has defended the Trump administration's proposed 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, saying the aim is to strengthen trade ties while work continues on the future of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Speaking before the US Senate Finance Committee, Greer said he expects "options" for interim trade arrangements to be presented to the leaders of Canada, the United States and Mexico before the end of the year.

“I’m hopeful that before the end of the year we can have at least options for President Trump and the leaders of Canada and Mexico to consider potential interim arrangements for things that Canada can do on the one hand and Mexico can do on the other hand to strengthen enforcement, to improve their commitments toward us and to make sure that we’re managing all of the trade issues,” Greer said.

“We want to improve our trading relationship with Canada and Mexico,” he added.

Greer said the discussions include labour and environmental standards, along with rules of origin for products such as vehicles.

The comments come after President Donald Trump announced plans to impose 50 per cent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods from 19 August.

Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc has said Ottawa has submitted proposals to modernise CUSMA, while Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada is considering "all options" if the tariffs are implemented.