Canada Sees Opening to Ease U.S. Tariffs After Trump's Midterm Loss

Canada will seek to ease trade tensions with the U.S. after President Donald Trump’s midterm election setback, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Anand said Canada hoped for progress on U.S. tariffs covering lumber, steel, aluminum and automobiles.

“These sectors are being hit very hard in Canada with workers losing their jobs,” she said.

Anand spoke from Paris, where she was attending a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

She said Canada had responded to Trump’s tariffs by retaliating and seeking out other trading partners.

Ottawa aims to double its trade outside the U.S. over the next decade.

Anand said Canada had signed more than 20 security, economic and defense agreements over the past year and was the only G7 country with a free trade agreement with every other member.

Canada is also expanding cooperation with the European Union in critical minerals, energy, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, Anand said.

Anand, who recently visited the United Arab Emirates, said talks hosted there this week between Russian and Ukrainian officials would focus on security guarantees for Kyiv, including for energy infrastructure and agricultural shipments leaving Ukrainian ports.

Canada plans to sign a 100-year agreement with Ukraine this year covering drone production and troop training, she said.