US VP Vance says negotiations with Canada are ongoing and they apply ridiculous tariffs on states like Maine

Remarks framing Canadian tariffs as unreasonable while confirming talks continue fit the established pattern of this trade dispute: public pressure from senior officials paired with back-channel negotiation, where the rhetoric and the diplomacy have historically run in parallel rather than as substitutes. Past episodes of US-Canada tariff friction have tended to resolve through negotiated carve-outs and quota arrangements rather than full escalation, with the USMCA framework providing the dispute-settlement architecture both sides ultimately return to. The tell in episodes of this kind is whether the other side retaliates rhetorically or stays quiet; silence has usually signalled a deal track is live, while matching escalation has preceded rounds of counter-tariffs. The transmission channel on the Canadian side runs through CAD, lumber, dairy and energy-linked spreads, and through state-level agricultural exposure on the US side, which the Maine reference makes explicit. The follow-ons worth noting are any Canadian official response, movement on the specific tariff lines named, and whether the commentary stays at the vice-presidential level or migrates to formal USTR or executive action. As political positioning rather than policy, the signal is directional only.