Trade war ‘resolvable’ but U.S. ties have ‘fundamentally’ changed: LeBlanc

'The United States has fundamentally changed, and it will not magically go back to what it may have been a year ago or 25 years ago,' Dominic LeBlanc said.

Canada’s minister leading the stop-and-start trade negotiations with the United States says the situation is ultimately “resolvable,” but noted it will take some time to find a solution to the ever-evolving trade war.

Dominic LeBlanc told the Senate foreign affairs and international trade committee Thursday that his talks with the Trump administration are currently focused on lowering or removing sectoral tariffs on industries like autos and lumber, which he hopes to make progress on before next year’s scheduled review of the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement on free trade (CUSMA).

Although he expressed optimism that Canada is getting closer to both a resolution on those tariffs and a positive CUSMA review in July — thanks in part to the removal of reciprocal measures and pressure from American political and business leaders — LeBlanc said there are still difficult conversations ahead.

“I do believe this is resolvable, but in the definition of what resolvable means, I’m also very much of the view of the prime minister that the relationship with the United States has fundamentally changed, and it will not magically go back to what it may have been a year ago or 25 years ago,” he said.

“It would be, I think, an error to assume that some of the challenges that we’re working our way through now won’t remain in some form for some time.”

Canada was hit with more sectoral tariffs this week on lumber and furniture products, with more set to come later this month on heavy trucks and pharmaceutical products imported to the U.S.

Those are on top of punishing duties on steel, aluminum and other industries that U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have justified under national security concerns.

Canadian exports to the U.S. that comply with CUSMA — about 85 per cent of cross-border trade — are not subject to the tariffs, which Ottawa says means Canada has a better deal with the U.S. than most other trading nations.