Stalled Canada-U.S. trade talks absent from Anand-Rubio meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Stalled Canada-U.S. trade talks failed to make the agenda of a 40-minute meeting Wednesday between Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and her American counterpart.

Ms. Anand and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. They talked about Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and maritime security, among other issues.

But, according to Ms. Anand, the one topic they did not discuss was the big rupture in Canada-U.S. relations that occurred three weeks ago when U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled talks with Ottawa that were trying to reach a deal to scale back his protectionist tariffs on Canadian goods.

Mr. Trump broke off negotiations because he was angry at an Ontario government TV ad that criticized tariffs.

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Leaving trade off the agenda of Wednesday’s meeting was a surprising omission given what’s at stake for Canada as it grapples with Mr. Trump’s protectionist tariffs, which are causing pain across the country’s economy from steel to aluminum to autos and lumber.

But Brian Clow, who served as deputy chief of staff to then-prime-minister Justin Trudeau, said it’s entirely possible that parties to the meeting can’t speak publicly about everything that transpired.

“I wouldn’t bet my house on the notion that trade didn’t come up. Sometimes in diplomacy you can’t talk about what you talked about,” he said.

The Anand-Rubio tête-à-tête was likely the highest-level one-on-one meeting between Canadian and American officials since Mr. Trump’s Oct. 23 move.

Ms. Anand defended the lack of talk on trade, saying negotiations are the purview of her colleague Dominic LeBlanc.

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Mr. Rubio also met with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, at the G7 meeting, and media reports of their private conversation said it focused on trade.

Asked why the Indians would talk trade with Mr. Rubio and yet she wouldn’t, Ms. Anand said she can’t speak for her foreign counterparts.

“I’m respectful of my colleague’s portfolios, one of whom is Dominic LeBlanc – whose role it is to cover Canada-U.S. trade,” she said.

Ms. Anand said her job is to build relationships with the United States on other issues, from Ukraine to the Middle East to the Arctic.

“These are significant issues that rightfully concern the Secretary of State as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of this country, and that’s exactly what we focused on.”

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Mr. Trump had also threatened to hike tariffs on Canadian products by 10 per cent but the President has not yet issued an executive order to enforce this hike.

Mr. Rubio, speaking to reporters after the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, disputed a CNN report that said Canada had “made clear” to the United States that it does not want its intelligence being used by the Americans to conduct strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug vessels.

Ms. Anand, asked about the report, said Canada has never assisted the U.S. in these strikes. “We have no involvement in the operation you are referring to.”

Separately, Ms. Anand announced a round of new sanctions on Russia that target those behind Moscow’s drone and cyberattacks on Ukraine.

The measures freeze any assets that the targeted individuals or companies might have in Canada and prohibit Canadian financial institutions from providing services to them. When imposed in concert with allies, they prevent those under sanction from evading these strictures by switching banking operations or assets to another Western country.

Ms. Anand made the announcement alongside Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who is also attending the G7 meeting.

Ms. Anand said the sanctions, which are aligned with similar measures by the United States, Britain and the European Union, are meant to further increase the economic costs on Russia for its “unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.”

Ukrainians faced widespread electricity shortages in recent days owing to Russian drone attacks on its energy facilities, with generating capacity reduced to zero at some points.

The sanctions target 13 individuals and 11 entities, including several involved in the development and deployment of Russia’s drone program. They also hit entities that supply the cyber infrastructure for hacking attacks on Ukraine.

The measures also apply to several Russian liquefied natural gas companies as Moscow “continues to rely on energy revenues to fund its war of aggression,” the Department of Global Affairs said in the sanction announcement.

Finally, the measures also expanded the target list of shipping vessels under sanction for conveying Russian petroleum to market in violation of Western restrictions on purchasing energy from Moscow. They add another 100 “shadow fleet” ships to the list of blacklisted vessels.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is also attending the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, said sanctions are hurting Moscow. She pointed to recent news that seaborne shipments of Russian crude oil have dropped for a third week in a row.

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“We need to discuss what more we can do because Russia does not want peace,” Ms. Kallas, vice-president of the European Commission and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in an interview.

She said she wants G7 countries to agree on measures to help Ukraine repair its energy infrastructure, which has been badly damaged by Moscow.

“Russia is targeting energy infrastructure and really trying to cause as much pain and suffering for the people before the cold winter,” she said.

The EU has amassed €800-million to help Ukraine repair its energy facilities and Ms. Kallas is hoping for support from other allies as well.

The EU foreign policy chief said she thinks Russia’s power is often overestimated and the power of the West underestimated.