Canada-U.S. trade talks stalled as Trump administration dismisses Canadian concessions

The Trump administration is not crediting Canada for its recent policy reversals aimed at resuming stalled trade negotiations, according to the U.S. Trade Representative.

Jamieson Greer said Wednesday that Canada's decision to drop its digital services tax and roll back its Online Streaming Act requirements don't "really get credit for doing something bad and then undoing it." Prime Minister Mark Carney dropped the digital services tax last June, hours before payments from tech giants would have been due, in an effort to resume suspended trade talks.

"That's just good practice on their part," Greer said at the Aspen Security Forum in Washington.

The initial effort seemed to stabilize the Canada-U.S. relationship briefly, with a limited deal on some sector-specific tariffs appearing close last October. But the U.S. froze talks again that month after Trump was angered by an Ontario-funded advertisement quoting former president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

In June, Ottawa directed the CRTC to reconsider its decision to triple streamers' financial contributions to Canadian content, following protests from American interest groups.

Greer said he is in weekly contact with Canadian counterparts and has offered Ottawa proposals to "put us in a better position," but added "we just haven't seen a lot of movement."

The U.S. formally announced it was not renewing CUSMA (the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement) at the start of July. The agreement remains in place under rolling annual reviews for up to a decade, but Canada and Mexico both sought a 16-year extension. Washington and Mexico have launched formal renegotiation talks, but no such talks have begun with Canada.

Greer said the Mexican government is "pragmatic" but noted the trade deficit with Mexico remains a challenge. He did not cite specific irritants with Canada but repeated a Trump administration talking point claiming Canada and China were the only countries to retaliate after the president imposed sweeping tariffs.

Greer emphasized that Trump remains focused on lowering the bilateral trade deficit with Canada, which is largely driven by oil imports. Without accounting for energy, the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Canada.

He spoke optimistically about a future agreement, indicating that high-level political discussions would be necessary. "The reality is if the president and Prime Minister Carney have an understanding, I'm sure we can put together something that makes sense to get us over the hump," he said.