Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pulled his negotiating team from trade talks with the United States Friday night — just hours before a midnight deadline that triggers 50% tariffs on billions of dollars of Canadian goods.
The collapse ends a week of intense negotiations over tariffs the White House announced last month. President Trump had suspended the tariffs for three days earlier this week, saying a deal was close.
It wasn’t.
“In recent weeks, we made important progress toward improving Canada’s position as having the best deal in the world with the U.S. However, that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians. As a result, this evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa.”
Carney blamed Washington for the breakdown, claiming the U.S. demanded “last-minute changes” he called “unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer fired back, pointing the finger at Canada.
Tonight, Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week.
Despite the U.S. 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…
— United States Trade Representative (@USTradeRep) August 22, 2026
“Despite the U.S. 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,” Greer posted shortly after Carney’s announcement.
The proposed deal included tariff reductions on steel, aluminum, autos, and lumber, plus new coordination on other trade areas. Greer said Canada got cold feet on commitments already made.
The White House imposed the tariffs in July to address what it called discriminatory Canadian practices: pulling American alcohol off shelves, giving European dairy better access than U.S. products, and capping American vehicle exports from companies bringing manufacturing back to the U.S.
The 50% levy hits products ranging from wine to hockey sticks to cement — $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, according to media reports. Carney put the figure at $28 billion CAD and vowed retaliation.
“Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.”
Canada is one of the top U.S. trading partners. The two countries exchanged an estimated $909 billion in goods and services in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Both Carney and Greer acknowledged the special trade relationship between the nations. But Carney said the relationship has changed — and Canada wasn’t going back to the old terms.
“We recognised from the beginning that America has changed, and that we will not return to our old relationship,” Carney said. “Throughout, our goal has been to secure the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any deadline.”
The White House has not publicly commented on the suspension of talks. The tariffs are now set to take effect.
My statement on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations: pic.twitter.com/65OuQH40ra
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 22, 2026
