Canada and US make progress on trade deal, Carney says

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday that Canada and the United States are making progress toward a trade deal after negotiations collapsed in August, though the two countries have not yet reached an agreement.

Carney made the comments in Manila, Philippines, where he is attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. He said he had a lengthy, substantive conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump before leaving for the trip, and that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller also participated in the call.

"I had quite a long, substantive conversation with President Trump just before leaving for this trip," Carney told reporters in Manila. "We are making progress. There is the possibility of a deal, a bilateral deal. But we’re not yet there."

Canada suspended trade negotiations in August after last-minute U.S. demands that Ottawa considered unacceptable. Washington subsequently imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion in Canadian goods, prompting retaliatory Canadian tariffs in September. The countries have since resumed discussions.

Carney said Canada would not accept a deal that undermines its auto industry, which has been battered by U.S. tariffs. He said Washington had backed away from demands involving Canada’s culture, French-language protections and ability to negotiate other trade agreements.

Separately, Carney announced that Canada had substantially concluded free-trade negotiations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a bloc of nearly 700 million people, and completed separate negotiations with the Philippines. The Canadian government estimates the ASEAN agreement could add nearly 2 billion Canadian dollars (US$1.4 billion) to Canada’s economy and create almost 14,000 jobs, particularly in agriculture and manufacturing. Officials hope to sign it next year. The Philippines agreement, expected to be signed next year, covers more than 90% of tariff lines, and the Canadian government said it could help triple Canadian exports to the Philippines by 2035.

Carney has made doubling Canadian exports to countries other than the United States by 2035 a central goal. He attended the European Political Community summit in Ireland before traveling to Manila, and will also attend the Francophonie summit in Cambodia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China, where he is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping.

Sources

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