US Trade Rep Greer Blames Canada for Tariff Talks Failure

US Trade Rep Jamieson Greer attributes the collapse of tariff negotiations to Canada wanting more, leading to new 50% tariffs on imports.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expressed on Monday that Canada was to blame for the breakdown in trade deal negotiations, stating that Ottawa modified its demands at a critical moment.

“We progressed to a point Tuesday night where we had enough agreement among the parties to announce that we had … found the way to a deal,” Greer said during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He continued, “Then we set about to finalize it, and then in the last hours, I think there were things that the Canadians just — you know, they wanted more.”

These comments echo Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarks, accusing the U.S. of suggesting “last-minute changes” that were deemed “unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”

Greer spoke just three days after Canadian negotiators departed Washington without a resolution to avoid President Donald Trump imposing new tariffs of 50% on approximately $20 billion worth of goods, which include imports such as wine, hockey sticks, and cement.

These tariffs took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday, raising concerns among business groups in both the U.S. and Canada about potential hikes in costs and disruptions in affected industries.

In response to the impending tariffs, Carney stated that Canada would retaliate with “dollar for dollar” tariffs against the U.S.

Greer characterized the trade dispute as having originated last year when Canada limited sales of U.S. alcohol, automobiles, and dairy products. These restrictions were a reaction to tariffs imposed by Trump, who has openly criticized free trade agreements and frequently used import taxes.

Greer noted that, aiming to accommodate Canada, the U.S. had proposed specific tariffs that would affect only about 5% of Canadian exports to the U.S.

Despite these new tariffs covering only a small portion of total U.S.-Canada trade, various business groups caution that the targeted list of products could significantly impact their operations.

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, stated, “The impact on small businesses will be immediate and significant,” in a statement.

According to Greer, the U.S. had made attempts to address Canadian concerns during negotiations by significantly reducing tariffs on steel and aluminum and cutting rates on items including automobiles and softwood lumber. However, he claims that Canada’s demands were still too high: “Simply, they wanted more,” he remarked.

“I don’t know if it was political for them. It certainly doesn’t make economic sense, but perhaps for political reasons. I don’t know, but they came in and they wanted they wanted more, and we were prepared to do that,” Greer concluded.

After the announcements, the Canadian dollar depreciated against the U.S. dollar early on Monday.