Mark Carney said Canada and the US are in negotiations to resolve issues in tariff-hit sectors after a “very constructive” conversation with President Donald Trump on Monday evening.

The Canadian prime minister said more meetings are taking place in Washington involving officials including Michael Sabia, Canada’s top civil servant. 

“We are expecting agreements in some of the strategic sectors,” Carney told reporters Wednesday in Toronto, referring to industries that have been targeted by US tariffs such as autos, steel and aluminum.

But he also cautioned that a deal might not happen quickly. “Don’t expect immediate white smoke on one of these strategic sectors, but that’s the type of conversation that we’re having.” 

Carney’s Monday call with Trump was not previously known, as neither his office nor the White House issued a readout afterward.

Trump raised some tariffs on Canada to 35% from 25% on Aug. 1, but he kept in place an exception for a broad range of products that are traded under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Carney defended his country’s competitive position, arguing that the exemption gives Canada a blended tariff rate of about 5.5%, “the lowest average tariff of any country in the world.”

Many of Trump’s tariffs are under a legal cloud after a US court declared them illegal on Aug. 29. But they’re still in place and the administration is attempting to get the US Supreme Court to back his tariff powers. 

Carney also said the government is looking for ways to resolve trade frictions with Canada’s second-largest trading partner, China, which imposed punishing tariffs on food items such as canola and pork after Canada placed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. 

With assistance from Mario Baker Ramirez.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.