Carney heads to Hamilton to meet steelworkers as U.S. trade talks continue

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to be in Hamilton today to make an announcement related to the steel industry. It has been more than a month since U.S. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25 to 50 per cent, adding further economic insult to the two industries in Canada.

Carney met with his cabinet virtually on Tuesday and told reporters before that meeting he doesn't think Trump will agree to any trade deals without including some tariffs. Carney will tour a steel company in the city and meet with workers during his visit to Hamilton.

Carney and Trump have been negotiating a new economic and security pact since early May and last week Trump unilaterally pushed the deadline for reaching that from July 21 to Aug. 1. He told Carney in a letter on July 10 Canada will be hit with 35 per cent tariffs that day, with the White House saying the current plan is for that to apply only to those Canadian imports not covered under the existing Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. Carney says negotiations with the U.S. are likely to intensify as that Aug. 1 deadline approaches.