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Carney Says Canada-U.S. Trade Talks Are Moving Forward Before Midterms

Elena MarquezPublished 11m ago2 min readBased on 11 sources
Carney Says Canada-U.S. Trade Talks Are Moving Forward Before Midterms
source:gc.ca

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on November 1, 2026 that he had a "Good conversation with US President Donald Trump on the future of Canada-U.S. trade," and that progress was being made toward a deal. Al Jazeera reported his remarks.

Carney said teams from both countries will work over the coming weeks to deliver a trade-deal outcome. He said the progress builds on recent constructive discussions about the outlines of a mutually beneficial agreement. The announcement comes days before the US midterm elections on November 3, 2026, which will determine control of the US Congress.

The talks have had a difficult recent history. High-level negotiations between Ottawa and Washington broke down in August 2026. The United States then imposed a 50 percent levy on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, equal to 5.5 percent of Canada's exports. A levy is a tax on imports, and the 50 percent rate is applied on top of the goods' normal price. Canada responded with tariffs of its own on US steel, dairy, appliances, farm equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.

In August, Carney said the United States had agreed to postpone putting its 50 percent tariff into effect on a range of Canadian goods while trade work continued. On August 22, he said a mutually beneficial Canada-U.S. trade agreement that respects Canada's sovereignty is possible.

In the week before November 1, Trump said he expected a new trade agreement with Canada to be reached "pretty soon." He did not offer details.

Separately, Canada has welcomed a European Union offer to make it an "associate member." Carney has described the goal for the EU proposal as a "unique alliance" rather than conventional EU membership.

Canadian government briefing material published on October 1, 2026 said that about 85 percent of Canada's goods trade with the United States is tariff-free, which is the backdrop to the current dispute. Government of Canada That share is the part of the trade the current tariffs do not touch.

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