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Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’s had a “good conversation” with U.S. President Donald Trump on the future of Canada-U.S. trade, further adding their chat “builds on our recent constructive discussions” over the outlines of a possible trade deal.
“Our teams will now be working in the coming weeks to deliver that outcome,” Carney said on social media on Sunday morning.
A senior Canadian source tells CBC News that it’s unclear what form those talks will take, after earlier suggestions formal negotiations were set to begin again.
Autos are expected to remain a key sticking point, as they were last time in August before trade talks fell apart. That collapse prompted both countries to impose steep duties on one another.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday evening, Trump said that “we have the concept of a deal that’s going to be great for our farmers, great for our country, and it will be fine for Canada.”
A White House spokesperson said in a statement that “the Trump Administration welcomes continued engagement with Canada as we work toward finalizing the details of a deal that will deliver meaningful results for the American people.”
Asked about the possibility of a trade deal ahead of the U.S. midterms, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada ‘will only entertain’ a deal that suits Canadians.
Carney’s comments on social media come days after he told reporters that Canada is not yet in a position to agree to a U.S. trade deal and that Ottawa is looking for the right agreement for Canadians.
“We think there’s deals that are in the best interests of Canada, first and foremost, but also are in the interests of the United States. That’s always been the case. We’ve been consistent,” Carney said on Wednesday.
Over the final weeks of the U.S. midterm elections, Trump and other senior American officials have suggested progress was being made. But sources told CBC News last month that Canadian government officials have been informing industry groups a deal was unlikely before Tuesday’s vote.
Sources also told CBC News that trade talks have intensified in recent weeks but that the conversations did not mean an agreement was imminent.
A source familiar with the discussions told Radio-Canada that “key elements” of the discussions remain unresolved and said, “We are not on the verge of an agreement just yet.”
Trump’s trade war on Canada has featured heavily in U.S. midterm discussions, as Democrats seize on his tariffs to prosecute a larger argument about his care for Americans’ cost of living. Some Republican candidates have defended the duties, but others are distancing themselves.
Why talks broke down last time
After a flurry of negotiations in August, Canadian and American negotiators ultimately could not come to an agreement. Both countries, and their respective officials, blamed the other side for the collapse.
In the following weeks, Carney said one of the main reasons he walked away was because Washington demanded terms that would “destroy” big Canadian industries, including auto, steel and aluminum sectors.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed that Canadian negotiators only brought up tariff relief on medium- and heavy-duty trucks at the last minute — and further alleged the Canadians did so to kill the deal.
Speaking with CBC’s Catherine Cullen on Friday, Canada’s chief trade negotiator Janice Charette reacted to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s claims that Canada had only raised concerns over medium- and heavy-duty trucks at the last minute. She said while it’s true that Canada brought them up on the final Friday of trade negotiations, they ‘also raised them on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.’
In an interview with The House, Canada’s chief trade negotiator, Janice Charette, said the Canadians raised the issue on “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.”
Carney has also said that at the last minute, the U.S. took issue with Canadian rules that ensure French-language content is easy to find on streaming platforms, such as Netflix, and that the Americans tried to restrict Canada’s ability to strike trade deals with other countries.
Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer quickly pushed back on Canada’s claims about French-language discoverability, arguing the U.S. would not jeopardize a deal over that issue.
As for restrictions on Canada’s future trade deals, Greer told CBC News in August that there was no requirement in the text, but rather the U.S. sought to discuss how Canada could align its tariffs so it doesn’t become a back door for steel and aluminum from other countries.
A source has previously told CBC News that the U.S. wanted Canada to apply sectoral tariffs, primarily on steel and aluminum, to its trading partners, while countries that have a free trade deal with Canada would face tariffs on imports above 2025 levels.
In his social media post on Sunday, Carney described the possible “mutually beneficial trade deal” as one that would “create jobs for our workers, boost affordability for families, and fully respect Canada’s languages, culture, and sovereignty.”
Source: www.cbc.ca
