Canada has no timeline for returning to formal U.S. trade talks, chief negotiator says

Canada's chief trade negotiator, Janice Charette, said on Thursday that there is no timeline for returning to formal trade talks with the United States. She made the remarks at the Toronto Global Forum conference.

Charette said she is still communicating with her U.S. counterparts. She also said Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc "has regular and frequent conversations" with them, according to The Globe and Mail.

The talks broke down in late August. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on August 22 that he had suspended the negotiations the previous evening, and he directed Canada's negotiators to return to Ottawa. The Globe and Mail reported that Carney walked away from the table minutes before the deadline.

Carney has cited Washington's refusal to grant tariff relief to Canadian medium- and heavy-duty trucks as one reason for ending the talks. He has also said Canada will not return to the table until the United States changes its attitude toward trade talks. On September 1, he said the United States needs to stop trying to be tough before negotiations can restart, Reuters reported.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said last month that the Trump administration is in no hurry to restart trade talks with Ottawa.

After the talks collapsed, Washington imposed new tariffs on about US$20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Tariffs are taxes on imported goods. Ottawa answered with countertariffs, which are tariffs on a similar value of U.S. products.

Washington and Ottawa have not yet begun formal negotiations on possible changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the continental trade pact known as USMCA. Still, a 2026 Department of Finance briefing binder stated that 85% of Canada's trade with the United States remains tariff-free, according to the federal government's published materials.