Four U.S. senators met with Prime Minister Mark Carney for 45 minutes Monday as Canada and the United States approach an Aug. 1 deadline to reach a trade agreement.
The bipartisan delegation included Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada). All four serve on the Senate Finance Committee.
"We are bridge builders, not people who throw wrenches," Wyden told reporters after the meeting on Parliament Hill. He described the discussion as "constructive."
The senators discussed softwood lumber, digital services taxes and metals tariffs with Carney. Wyden said both sides appeared open to a quota arrangement on softwood lumber, with the prime minister indicating receptiveness to the idea.
On digital services tax, Wyden said Carney was receptive to permanently eliminating the tax through legislation. "He said he would get on it in the fall," Wyden said.
The delegation also met with Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who is responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, along with Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand.
Asked about President Donald Trump's repeated references to Canada becoming the 51st state, Murkowski called it:
"Nothing more than a positioning statement."
This marked the second congressional delegation to visit Carney in three months. Senior Canadian officials were in Washington last week to advance negotiations, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
LeBlanc is expected to return to Washington this week to continue trade discussions.
