The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Aug. 13, edition that Canadian officials are mulling a proposal to accept U.S. auto tariffs of 10 to 15 per cent and eliminate retaliatory levies on American-made cars. The Globe's Adrian Morrow and Marieke Walsh write that the U.S. would also keep a tariff exemption on American content in cars exported from Canada. A Canadian source mentioned that the 10- to 15-per-cent figure was a U.S. proposal, while Ottawa suggested a broader exemption covering the full value of car content made in Canada, the U.S. or Mexico. Such a deal would mean Canada agreeing to U.S. tariffs on a marquee industry while Ottawa would impose none of its own. The upside for Canada is that the tariffs would be lower than the current 25-per-cent tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum and forest products. Canadian car-parts lobbyist Flavio Volpe said a 10- to 15-per-cent tariff "does not work for carmakers or parts makers." Mr. Volpe, who is in Washington, said he had spoken with both Canadian officials and U.S. industry representatives. "I'm still optimistic that we can do a deal, but there's a long shadow between optimism and concurrence, and there's a lot that still has to be worked out," he said.