in World News ‘Shrewd Negotiator’: Canadian Official ‘Feeling Very Positive’ After Meeting With Commerce Secretary
By Russell Bartlett
Tension over tariffs has strained the U.S.-Canada relationship in recent weeks, but one top Canadian official said a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick gave him reason for optimism.
Lutnick met with Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Thursday, and the latter heralded it as a “positive” experience.
According to The Hill:
“We shared a tremendous amount of views back and forth, and I’m feeling very positive,” Ford told reporters outside the U.S. Department of Commerce building.
“I just look forward to reaching out again next week, but this, I can honestly say, was the best meeting I’ve ever had coming down here,” he added.
The two are slated to meet again next week.
“Now keep in mind, Secretary Lutnick is a perceived businessman, a shrewd negotiator, and he’s doing what’s right for his country, and I’m doing what’s right for my province, and in turn our country,” the premier said, noting the U.S. has not agreed to call off or alter current tariffs on imports from Canada.
Ford has notably been a vocal advocate for Canada’s retaliation efforts against President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Trump’s embrace of tariffs has been pilloried by his detractors on the left, but Lutnick and others see it as a way to even the existing trade imbalance between America and other nations: