The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Canada's trade deficit with the world narrowed in May from a record high the previous month, but tariffs continued to weigh on exports to the United States, raising the stakes for trade negotiations between Ottawa and Washington. The Globe's Nojoud Al Mallees writes that Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that the country's trade deficit, which reflects the difference between its exports and imports, fell to $5.9-billion. The deficit in April was revised to $7.6-billion, marking Canada's largest on record and wider than previously reported. "While the trade figures improved a bit in May from a tough April, the deep shortfall highlights the uncertainty facing Canadian importers and exporters," wrote Bank of Montreal senior economist Shelly Kaushik in a client note. Exports to the United States in May slipped by 0.9 per cent, after a whopping 16-per-cent decline in April. It was the fourth consecutive monthly decline as the White House targets some sectors of the Canadian economy with punishing tariffs. This includes levies on steel, aluminum and automobiles, as well as on all goods that do not comply with the continental free-trade agreement's rules of origin.