Dominic Leblanc

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is back in Washington this week in his search for a breakthrough in trade negotiations with the U.S. administration. LeBlanc’s office confirmed that chief trade negotiator to the U.S. Janice Charette is with the minister as they try to hammer out a deal. That task continues to look challenging as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to claim he doesn’t care about reviewing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) or striking a broader deal with his northern and southern neighbours. Asked by Fox News if he was looking to update the continental trade deal he said, “I don’t care. I mean I don’t really want to. …Mexico and Canada need us, we don’t need them.” Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that while CUSMA is important, he is pursuing an overall trade agreement with the Trump administration rather than looking only to settle trade disputes on the CUSMA file.