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The Clock Is Ticking Down on Another U.S.-Canada Trade War

19 0
20.08.2026

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at last-minute U.S.-Canada trade talks, Ukraine’s depleted arsenal, and Taiwan’s record-breaking defense spending proposal.

Less than 30 hours remain for Canada and the United States to negotiate trade terms to avoid another round of sweeping U.S. duties. With senior officials from both sides convening in Washington on Thursday to discuss a potential deal, experts are waiting to see if Ottawa will cave to the White House’s demands or choose to bear the brunt of another tariff war.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at last-minute U.S.-Canada trade talks, Ukraine’s depleted arsenal, and Taiwan’s record-breaking defense spending proposal.

Less than 30 hours remain for Canada and the United States to negotiate trade terms to avoid another round of sweeping U.S. duties. With senior officials from both sides convening in Washington on Thursday to discuss a potential deal, experts are waiting to see if Ottawa will cave to the White House’s demands or choose to bear the brunt of another tariff war.

On Wednesday, the United States was scheduled to impose 50 percent levies on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, from dairy products to electronics to hockey sticks. However, less than two hours before they were set to go into effect, U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly postponed the tariffs for a 72-hour period, citing progress in ongoing trade talks.

A third of that window has come and gone, though, and few details have emerged about what terms are on the table.

According to a White House proclamation posted on Tuesday, Canada has expressed willingness to remove certain tariffs on U.S. goods—such as alcohol, dairy, and automobiles—that Trump has previously called discriminatory. The U.S. president also hinted on Tuesday that any deal could include resurrecting talks over the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which the Biden administration scrapped in 2021 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prioritize green energy. Ottawa has yet to confirm these commitments.

But Canada isn’t the only one looking poised to make concessions.........

© Foreign Policy