Toronto Star: Many blamed U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is influential with Trump and has jurisdiction over the so-called Section 232 tariffs applied to Canadian autos, steel, aluminum and lumber in the name of U.S. national security.
…What was never on the table was a zero-tariff deal, according to three senior Canadian officials.
…As wording of text was being sent back and forth, the Canadian side says the Americans were narrowing the scope of what Ottawa thought was agreed to, particularly on autos.
“Lutnick started pilfering the agreement,” said a stakeholder. “It would have been the total erosion of the automotive sector within the next 10 years in Canada.”…