The next is the transcript of an interview with Dominic LeBlanc, Canadian Minister for U.S.-Canada Commerce, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Aug. 3, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to the Canadian Minister for U.S.-Canada commerce, Dominic LeBlanc, who joins us this morning from Moncton, Canada. Good morning to you.
MIN. LEBLANC: Good morning, Ms. Brennan.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You have been simply right here, in Washington, negotiating. And whereas the talks are formally persevering with, you left city with out a deal, and also you left city with, now, what’s a 35% tariff on items. How a lot of a setback was the President’s determination to try this when you are nonetheless on the desk?
MIN. LEBLANC: So we have been clearly—clearly upset by that call. We consider there’s quite a lot of frequent floor between the US and Canada by way of constructing two robust economies that work nicely collectively. That is been the historical past of the 40-year Free Commerce Settlement that goes again to President Reagan. We have been happy the US is respecting the phrases of the USMCA settlement. That is very important, we expect, to the price of dwelling and affordability, actually in the US, it is true in Canada, as nicely. So, we will proceed to do the work. We left, all the time, with a greater understanding of the American considerations within the buying and selling relationship. Ambassador Greer, Secretary Lutnick, engaged with us in constructive, cordial conversations. So we’re ready to stay round and do the work wanted. We expect, Ms. Brennan, that the economies of each international locations are strengthened after we do issues collectively, the buying and selling relationship between Canada and the US is not like different companions. One description, with out which I assumed was very apt; we do not promote issues to one another as a lot as we construct issues collectively. And that is why it’s- it is tough on this relationship when a lot is built-in. However we stay very optimistic.
MARGARET BRENNAN: However, you heard Ambassador Greer say Canada—as a result of Canada retaliated to the preliminary tariffs all the way in which again in April, when Prime Minister Trudeau was in workplace, you are paying the value now, despite the fact that you’ve got a brand new authorities in place. If that is the problem, why not make that concession and pull again?
MIN. LEBLANC: So, Prime Minister Carney, our new prime minister, has, we expect, constructed a really business-like, respectful relationship with President Trump. We expect that is clearly essential to Canada, and we expect to the US. We’re coping with, take, for instance, the metal sector in Canada. It is a strategic significance to nationwide safety in Canada, as it’s for President Trump and the American financial system. We now have a scenario the place there is a 50% tariff. We are the largest metal export marketplace for the US. We now have a 25% tariff. There is a 50% tariff after we need to promote one thing into the US. So, successfully, we’re blocked from doing that. However the nationwide safety curiosity of Canada requires that we have now a viable metal and aluminum sector, and my conversations with Secretary Lutnick and others are that therein lies an instance, the place if we do the suitable work collectively, we have now, Ms. Brennan, the hardest guidelines of any nation coping with Chinese language dumping into Canada. We now have soften and pour tracing, in order that merchandise coming from different international locations with Chinese language metal cannot be dumped into the Canadian market. So, we’re wanting and advancing concepts the place we are able to do this work with the US, on the identical time, guaranteeing that our financial system continues to have sectors very important to the financial way forward for Canada. However, that is not in contradiction to President Trump’s nationwide safety targets in the US, after all.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Nicely, I need to discuss to you extra about this concept of the so-called fortress North America to tackle China, and among the specifics of the dispute on the opposite aspect of this business break. Please stick with us. We’ll have extra questions for Minister LeBlanc shortly. We’ll you see in a second.
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MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome again to Face the Nation. We return to our dialog with the Canadian Minister for US-Canada commerce, Dominic LeBlanc. Minister, we have been simply speaking about among the sectoral tariffs, the metals. American automakers, GM, Ford, Stellantis, they’ve all stated that these tariffs are hurting their income. The 50% steel tariffs, which use Canadian aluminum, the Secretary of the Treasury was speaking about these simply the opposite day, they’re seeing the impression right here in the US, a little bit of a backfire in some methods. Do you see room for maneuver on these? Are they prepared to barter with you on these tariffs?
MIN. LEBLANC: Ms. Brennan, we hope so. And, as I say, we’re inspired by the conversations with Secretary Lutnick and Ambassador Greer, however we’re not but the place we have to go to get the deal that is in the most effective curiosity of the 2 economies. However your instance is an efficient one. Canadian aluminum corporations massively provide the American market. And by placing a 50% tariff on aluminum from Canada, you’ve got elevated the value of a complete collection of products. The car sector, once more, is an instance the place there’s been deep integration. We are the largest buyer of U.S. made cars. Closely, closely importing into Canada mild and heavy-duty vans. 50% of the vehicles that we end in Canada and promote to the US are made up of American elements. So, therein lies an ideal instance the place, as an alternative of tariffing each other, or President Trump for his nationwide safety causes, underneath his Part 232, tariffs, needs to have a powerful home metal, aluminum vehicle sector. Nicely, so does Canada. And we perceive and respect completely the President’s view by way of the nationwide safety curiosity. In actual fact, we share it, and what we have stated to our American counterparts is, how can we construction the suitable settlement, the place we are able to each proceed to produce each other in a dependable, cost-effective manner that preserves jobs important to the American financial system, however the identical factor is true, clearly in Canada as nicely.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Are there any plans for the 2 leaders to talk? I noticed President Trump stated your prime minister referred to as him Thursday, and so they simply by no means linked. I imply, are tensions that prime? And given the altering justification for the tariffs, do you actually really feel such as you’re negotiating with the opposite aspect in good religion?
MIN. LEBLANC: Certain, we do. In fact we do. As I say, the conversations have been informative, constructive, and cordial. I might anticipate the Prime Minister can have a dialog with the President over the subsequent variety of days. That is actually my plan, once more with Secretary Lutnick, recognizing that we expect there may be an choice of putting a deal that may carry down a few of these tariffs, present better certainty to funding. We, Ms. Brennan, we handed, in Canada, our model of the President’s One Large, Stunning Invoice. It is referred to as the One Canadian Financial system Act, which we expect will unlock as much as $500 billion of funding in Canada for issues like pipelines, port infrastructure, mines, all of which provide large alternatives to American companies as nicely. So, we expect there’s a fantastic deal- a fantastic deal to work on collectively.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All proper, Minister, we’ll see if you will get one. We’ll be proper again.
