U.S., Canada near final trade deal as Trump tariff deadline looms

Dominic LeBlanc (C), Canada's minister in charge of US-Canada trade, arrives to meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the headquarters of the Office of the United States Trade Representative in Washington, DC, on August 20, 2026. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty ImagesThe U.S. and Canada have yet to announce a final trade deal that will keep President Donald Trump's new tariffs on hockey sticks, wine and other Canadian goods from taking effect early Saturday morning.The 50% retaliatory tariffs were initially set to kick in Wednesday — until Trump, in an eleventh-hour post on Truth Social, said he would postpone them for three days so Washington and Ottawa could finalize a tentative deal.Trump's post signaled that the agreement was all but complete, "subject to the finalization of documents." But trade officials emerged from additional rounds of talks in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday without a final deal in hand."We're very close," Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters Thursday afternoon. "We continue to make progress, and we're going to stay here and do the work that's necessary until we get to that point."LeBlanc noted that Canadian negotiator Jan...