Counter-Tariffs, Attitudes May Have Cost Canada a Trade Deal Extension, US Ambassador Says

U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra delivers his speech during a Fourth of July party at Lornado, the residence of the ambassador from the United States, in Ottawa, on July 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Ottawa likely failed to secure a trade deal extension after Aug. 1 as Mexico did, because of its negotiation style and the retaliatory tariffs it placed on the United States, the U.S. ambassador to Canada says.

Pete Hoekstra made the comments in an Aug. 5 interview on CBC’s “Power & Politics,” where he was asked why Mexico was given an extension to continue negotiations on trade and tariffs while Canada was not.