NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ONT.— Canada’s ambassador to the United States says he thinks the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the White House will be lifted soon.

“I think that we will resolve this sooner rather than later,” David MacNaughton told a business crowd here Friday.

Citing national security concerns, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed the tariffs last May during a fractious round of trade talks. During negotiations for what would become the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, though, he suggested the tariffs would be removed once a new trade deal was reached.

That didn’t happen when the deal was unveiled on Oct. 1, and Canada has been pressing its case ever since.

The tariffs were applied under Section 232, in which the United States can impose tariffs on imports that are deemed a national security threat. Canada calls the tariffs illegal and retaliatory.

In a forceful defence of Canada’s position, MacNaughton called out Trump’s use of the section.

“During the negotiations, the president made a point on several occasions, as did members of Congress, that the 232 action was not so much a suggestion of Canada’s national security threat as it was to exercise leverage,” MacNaughton said.

“Now that we’ve come to an agreement, there is no need for those tariffs to be in place.”

He was speaking on a panel with United States ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft, organized by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. His optimism was met by a noncommittal Craft, who said the two envoys don’t see eye-to-eye on this front.

“We can agree to disagree,” she said about the tariffs, reminding MacNaughton that the Trump administration is reviewing them.

The tariffs, Craft said, are “not something that is against Canada; it is just protecting North America from other countries that will be passing raw materials through, and also (to) protect our steel industry at home.”

The Canadian Press reported last week that U.S. negotiators had asked Canada to agree to a quota system for steel and aluminum exports in exchange for the tariffs being lifted.

Eric Miller, an adviser on trade negotiations and president of the Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, said Craft’s comments suggest the two sides remain far apart, and he’s not “especially optimistic about a resolution soon.”

Canadian officials monitoring midterm elections for possible turning point

MacNaughton wouldn’t speculate on how soon the tariffs could be lifted, but referred to the Nov. 6 midterm elections in the U.S. as a key date.

“I don’t know whether they want to do it before the mid-terms or after, or what the political complications are,” MacNaughton told reporters after the panel.

Ontario Finance Minister Vic Fedeli was more direct.

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“A lot will have to do, we think, with the midterm elections,” Fedeli said, adding that because the tariffs weren’t immediately removed after talks ended, it could come down to political positioning ahead of the November mid-terms.

“Many people feel that it’s south-of-the-border posturing to bolster their chances of keeping a Republican House and Senate and, once that election is over — in a week or so — we can get to business as usual,” he said.

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