The United States called the collapse of three days of intensive trade talks with Canada a “missed opportunity”, as Ottawa suspended negotiations and ordered its team to return, as Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer said Canada had declined to finalize a deal despite what he described as a US offer to give Canada the “best treatment of any major exporter” to the American market. He said new Canadian demands and changes to earlier commitments had disrupted the balance reached during negotiations.
"Tonight, Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week. Despite the US offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walk backs of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days. In addition, Canada is continuing to maintain its prolonged retaliation against the United States, including, among other things, flat-out prohibitions on certain American goods and services," it said
"For decades, Canada has enjoyed the most favorable access to the US market of any country. And from the beginning of President Trump’s trade program, Canada has continued to enjoy the best treatment in the world, even after – like China – retaliating against the United States. This week, the United States agreed to provide even better treatment to Canada, offering significant tariff reductions on steel, aluminum, autos, and lumber," he added.
Further continuing slamming Canada, it said, "The US offer was also forward looking, and included a historic economic and national security partnership to cooperate on export controls, combat transshipment, enhance digital trade, and align certain external tariffs. The offer would have led to supply chain coordination on aerospace, complementary actions to address unfair trade practices, critical minerals cooperation, increased enforcement against imports produced with forced labor, and the announcement of formal U.S. -Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) negotiations."
"This is a missed opportunity for Canada to partner with the United States, which is the fastest growing economy in the G7," Greer claimed.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had suspended the talks and directed Canada’s negotiating team to return to Ottawa after last-minute changes to the US proposal were “unfair” and “uneconomic”.
The US imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday. Carney said Canada would match the tariffs “dollar for dollar” to protect Canadian workers and businesses. The duties cover about 5 per cent of what Canada ships to the US each year and come after Washington and Ottawa failed to resolve differences over tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, automobiles and lumber.
The breakdown marked a sharp reversal from two days earlier, when officials from both countries appeared close to a compromise. President Donald Trump had extended the tariff deadline by three days to allow negotiations to continue.
No further talks have been scheduled, raising fresh questions over the future of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which underpins trade across deeply integrated North American supply chains. The rupture also represents a significant deterioration in relations between two historic allies.
The US and Canada traded about $880 billion in goods and services last year, while nearly 72 per cent of Canada’s goods exports went to the US. Carney said Canada had recognized that “America has changed” and that the two countries would “not return to our old relationship”. He said Ottawa would instead focus on strengthening its domestic economy and diversifying its trade relationships.
