Canada accused of slow-walking talks

Trade talks are the story here — but the real issue is leverage. Canada thought dropping its digital services tax in June 2025 would clear the air with Washington and restart negotiations. It did restart them, briefly. But now Quebec’s envoy for the CUSMA review, Louise Blais, says a different problem has taken hold in D.C.: U.S. officials think Canada is dragging its feet. ### Who said Canada is stalling? Blais did. She was appointed last month as Quebec’s representative for the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement review, and she said an impression has settled in Washington — fair or not — that Canada is “looking elsewhere” and “slow-walking this.” Her warning was not that talks are dead today. It was that the U.S. side increasingly believes Ottawa is not urgently trying to land a deal. (bloomberg.com) ### Why does Quebec care so much? Because uncertainty is expensive. Quebec has a big stake in cross-border manufacturing, aluminum, aerospace, and other sectors that depend on predictable access to the U.S. market. If Ottawa lets the idea of “Canada is stalling” harden inside the Trump administration, that can spill into the CUSMA review and into tariff decisions that hit provincial industries fast. That is basically Blais’s warning. (bloomberg.com) ### Didn’t Canada already make a concession? Yes — a big one. On June 29, 2025, Ottawa rescinded the digital services tax and said the move was meant to advance broader trade negotiations with the United States. Carney’s government framed that as a practical step to get talks moving again, and both sides set a target of reaching a deal by July 21, 2025. (financialpost.com) ### So what went wrong after that? Turns out the tax fight was not the whole fight. Reporting on the collapse of last year’s talks shows negotiators got close after an October White House meeting, with discussions covering steel, aluminum, uranium, and energy. But the talks then fell apart, and autos became a major sticking point. In other words, Canada gave ground on one irritant, but the broader dispute kept spreading into other sectors. (canada.ca) ### What tariffs are still in the picture? A lot of them. By mid-2025, the U.S. had already imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada, 25% tariffs on autos, and broader tariffs on some Canadian goods outside CUSMA coverage. Later moves pushed some rates even higher on non-CUSMA goods. That means this is not a symbolic spat — companies are already planning around real trade barriers. (politico.com) ### Why would Washington think Canada is “looking elsewhere”? Because Ottawa has been trying to show it has options. Carney has talked publicly about not structuring Canada’s whole strategy around the U.S., and Canada has leaned into ties with other partners. That may be smart long term. But in a negotiation, especially with Trump’s team, it can also be read as a sign that Canada is not treating a bilateral deal as the immediate priority. That is an inference — but it fits Blais’s warning. (cnbc.com) ### Is Canada actually slow-walking this? That depends on your frame. Ottawa’s line has been that it will take as long as necessary to get the right deal. From that view, caution is discipline. From Washington’s view, delay can look like avoidance — especially after the July 2025 target slipped and sector fights kept piling up. Same facts, different read. (nationalpost.com) ### What’s the bottom line? This story is really about trust. Canada is trying not to sign a bad deal just to hit a deadline. The U.S. side seems increasingly convinced that caution is just stalling. If that perception sticks, the next phase of CUSMA talks gets harder — and businesses on both sides keep paying the price. (financialpost.com) (canada.ca)