Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday he’s feeling “encouraged” after meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and American lawmakers in Washington ahead of next week’s tariff deadline.

But LeBlanc also suggested that a new economic and security arrangement with the United States may not materialize in time for U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest deadline of Aug. 1.

“Canadians expect us to take the time necessary to get the best deal we can in the interest of Canadian workers,” LeBlanc said outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington.

“So we are only going to be in a position to accept a deal when the prime minister decides that it is the best deal we can get in the interest of Canadian workers and the Canadian economy.”

Trump has sent le

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