US Trade Rep Says Canada Gets No Credit for Concessions, Calls Them a Reversal of ‘Bad’ Policies

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speaks to members of the press outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington on April 2, 2026. Alex Wong/Getty Images

A top trade official in the U.S. administration says there’s little movement in talks with Canada, even as some policies criticized by Washingon are rolled back.

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer gave an update on the state of trade negotiations with Canada during a fireside chat at the Aspen Security Forum on July 15.

Greer noted how Canada has repealed its Digital Services Tax (DST) and asked the broadcast regulator CRTC to review its decision to triple its tax on large online streamers.

“I’m glad they did that, but they don’t really get credit for doing something bad and then undoing it, right?” Greer said.

Ottawa announced the repealing of the DST last summer to facilitate trade talks with Washington. The directive to the CRTC came in early June, one day after Greer met with Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

Another apparent recent concession from the Canadian side pertains to revisiting the revenue-sharing agreement for the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich., after the United States delayed the bridge’s opening while the two sides negotiated outstanding issues.

Greer’s latest comments come two weeks after the July 1 deadline for review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on free trade.

Canada and Mexico have called for the pact to be renewed for 16 years, whereas the United States said it doesn’t want to renew CUSMA “in its current form.” Greer previously said one reason his country didn’t renew the deal is because of Canada’s agreement with Beijing to import Chinese electric vehicles.

If CUSMA is not extended, it remains in force until 2036, unless one party withdraws. Washington said discussions will continue to address the agreement’s “shortcomings.”

Meanwhile, Ottawa said it is approaching the discussions “from a position of strength and with the goal of preserving and strengthening one of the most successful trading relationships in the world.”

The United States wants to address various trade issues with Canada and Mexico, including the goods trade deficits, while Canada wants to be exempted from U.S. sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos, and lumber.

Greer said he’s in contact with his Canadian counterparts on a weekly basis, while adding that having talks doesn’t mean there’s any movement.

“I’ve given lots of proposals to the Canadians on things that could be done immediately to put us in a better position,” Greer said, while adding “we just haven’t seen a lot of movement.”

Asked how long it could take for a deal to be reached with Canada, Greer said it depends on U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney reaching an understanding. “I’m sure we can put together something that makes sense to get us over over the hump,” he said.

Trade Deficits

Greer said there would always be trade with Canada because of the two countries’ geographic proximity, while adding that Trump is focused on reducing the U.S. trade deficit with Canada.

Greer’s office says the U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada dropped 25 percent from 2024 to 2025. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau show a more modest drop of 21 percent. Statistics Canada suggests a drop closer to 20 percent in the U.S. trade deficit. The agency says Canadian energy exports to the United States are a key factor in explaining Canada’s merchandise trade surplus.

Greer said his country’s tariff policy is not aimed at any specific country but rather at being “more pro-America” and re-shoring supply chains to the United States.

Trump’s tariff strategy is having a sizeable impact on the global economy. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said in late June the large flow of investments in the United States is creating “imbalances.”

Meanwhile, a survey by KPMG with Canadian manufacturing businesses released in early July suggests 42 percent of respondents have moved or plan to move some or all of their production to the United States amid trade tensions and tariffs.

Greer also spoke about Mexico during his chat at the Aspen Security Forum, which has a much larger trade surplus with the United States than Canada. The U.S. trade deficit with Mexico stood as US$196.9 billion in 2025, an increase of 14.8 over 2024, according to Greer’s office.

“It’s going well with the Mexicans, they’re quite pragmatic,” Greer said, while noting the structural deficit needs to be addressed with tariffs or quotas. “We want to do it in a way that doesn’t disrupt supply chains unnecessarily, but we do want to incentivize supply chains moving here,” he said.

The United States has held two rounds of formal bilateral talks with Mexico on CUSMA, with a final one planned for next week in Mexico City. No similar talks have been announced with Canada.

Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Roberto Velasco was in Ottawa on July 17 to meet with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, after which the two said progress was made on economic, trade, security, and foreign policy issues.