The United States’ top trade negotiator says discussions with Canada have made little real progress, even as Ottawa has walked back several policies that had drawn criticism from Washington.
Speaking at a fireside chat during the Aspen Security Forum on July 15, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer acknowledged that Canada had scrapped its Digital Services Tax and asked broadcast regulator CRTC to reconsider a decision to triple fees on major streaming platforms. But he made clear those moves wouldn’t buy Ottawa much goodwill at the negotiating table.
“I’m glad they did that, but they don’t really get credit for doing something bad and then undoing it, right?” Greer said.
Canada dropped the Digital Services Tax last summer in what was widely seen as a gesture meant to smooth the path for trade talks with the U.S. The CRTC directive followed in early June, coming just a day after Greer sat down with Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
Another point of apparent compromise involves the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the massive span connecting Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit. Canada is reportedly revisiting the revenue-sharing terms for the crossing after the U.S. pushed back the bridge’s opening date while the two sides hashed out unresolved issues.
Greer’s remarks came roughly two weeks after the July 1 deadline for the mandated review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. Canada and Mexico have pushed to extend the pact for another 16 years, but the U.S. has resisted, saying it won’t renew the agreement in its present shape.
Greer has previously pointed to Canada’s deal with Beijing allowing imports of Chinese electric vehicles as one reason Washington isn’t ready to sign off on renewal. Should the agreement not be extended, it stays in effect until 2036 unless a party formally exits. U.S. officials say talks will continue in the meantime to work through what they describe as the deal’s shortcomings.
Canada, for its part, has struck a more confident tone, describing its approach as one rooted in strength and aimed at protecting what it calls one of the most productive trading partnerships anywhere in the world.
At the heart of the dispute are competing priorities: Washington wants to shrink its goods trade deficits with both neighbors, while Canada is pushing to be carved out of U.S. sectoral tariffs covering steel, aluminum, autos, and lumber.
Greer said he speaks with Canadian counterparts on a weekly basis, but cautioned that frequent contact doesn’t equate to progress.
“I’ve given lots of proposals to the Canadians on things that could be done immediately to put us in a better position,” he said, adding that “we just haven’t seen a lot of movement.”
Pressed on a possible timeline for a deal, Greer said the real breakthrough would have to come from the top a direct understanding between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney. He expressed confidence that some workable arrangement could eventually be found to move past the current impasse.
Greer suggested that trade between the U.S. and Canada will never disappear, given simple geography, but stressed that shrinking the deficit remains a priority for Trump. His office reports the U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada fell by 25 percent between 2024 and 2025 though U.S. Census Bureau figures put the decline closer to 21 percent, and Statistics Canada estimates it nearer 20 percent. Statistics Canada has attributed much of Canada’s merchandise trade surplus to energy exports heading south.
Greer maintained that Washington’s tariff approach isn’t targeted at any one country, describing it instead as an effort to bring supply chains back to American soil.
The ripple effects of that strategy are being felt well beyond trade negotiators’ offices. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said in late June that the surge of investment flowing into the U.S. is creating economic imbalances. A KPMG survey of Canadian manufacturers released in early July found that 42 percent of respondents have already shifted, or are planning to shift, some or all of their production south of the border because of tariffs and trade uncertainty.
Greer struck a notably different tone when discussing Mexico, which runs an even larger trade surplus with the U.S. than Canada does one that hit $196.9 billion in 2025, up nearly 15 percent from the year before, according to his office.
“It’s going well with the Mexicans, they’re quite pragmatic,” Greer said, though he noted the structural imbalance still needs addressing through tariffs or quotas. He said the goal is to avoid unnecessary disruption to existing supply chains while still encouraging manufacturers to relocate to the U.S.
Washington has already completed two rounds of formal bilateral talks with Mexico under CUSMA, with a third and final round scheduled for next week in Mexico City. No comparable formal talks have yet been scheduled with Canada.
Separately, Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Roberto Velasco traveled to Ottawa on July 17 for meetings with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand. The two reported progress on a range of fronts, including economic, trade, security, and broader foreign policy cooperation.
