No going back to former free trade system, Lutnick says, as U.S. aims to dominate

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick at the White House on Sept. 30. The U.S has placed a 25-per-cent tariff on Canadian-made cars.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that North America is not going back to the free trade regime that existed for decades and dismissed the possibility of a trade deal that removes U.S. tariffs on Canadian automobiles, according to sources who heard Mr. Lutnick address a Toronto audience on Wednesday.

Mr. Lutnick was speaking virtually at the BMO Eurasia US-Canada Summit the day after U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney met for the second time in Washington to discuss trade.

According to the sources, Mr. Lutnick said that the U.S. is determined to dominate auto manufacturing and that his country no longer wants vehic