Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is set to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war continues to strain bilateral relations between the two countries.
Anand is meeting Rubio in Washington, D.C., in their first official meeting in their respective roles on Thursday morning, Anand’s office said in a statement.
The two officials have spoken on the phone before, but their first official meeting comes as Trump continues to ramp up the pressure on Canada.
Trump signed an executive order last month that raised his tariffs on Canada to 35 per cent.
The White House said Trump was raising the tariff rate because Canada “has failed to cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs” into the U.S., as well as Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “disappointed” by Trump’s decision to raise tariffs further.
“While the Canadian government is disappointed by this action, we remain committed to CUSMA, which is the world’s second-largest free trade agreement by trading volume,” Carney wrote in a letter posted on social media.
“The U.S. application of CUSMA means that the U.S. average tariff rate on Canadian goods remains one of its lowest for all of its trading partners.”
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