Canada and the U.S. have spoken “within the past few days,” in an effort to work towards a mutually beneficial trade deal, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Thursday.
In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Pod,” Greer said U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney speak regularly. However, he declined to share a timeline on negotiations, saying “the substance of the deal is more important than a timeline.”
Greer’s comments follow recent predictions from U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra that a trade deal could be reached before the end of 2026.
Greer said though Canada “would love to go back to how things used to be, where there’s just unfettered free trade between our two countries,” the U.S. is working on a deal to protect the country’s supply chains.
“But we certainly are working on it,” he confirmed.
Will U.S. midterms effect trade talks?
As Trump and the Republican party reel from the U.S. midterm elections last week which saw the party lose both the House of Representatives and the Senate, American voters say they were swayed to vote against Trump due to policies including taxes on foreign imports that have fuelled inflation.
When asked if he and Trump have spoken about whether the tariff war contributed to voter results, Greer defended that gas, oil and the “vast amount” of food is not subject to tariffs.
However, he added that he and Trump are “going to keep taking trade actions as necessary.”
“What I hear from the other side, is some people characterize some of the tariffs as chaotic or reckless” he said.
“Some people want to have more stability with Canada. I just talked to you about working on a deal with Canada. I agree on wanting to have certainty on tariffs” he said.
Greer blamed Democrat attorney generals attempting to overturn tariffs as preventing the U.S. from having “more of that stability.”
The Trump administration has faced multiple lawsuits and wide-spread criticism since earlier this year, over the president’s imposition of tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union.
Most recently, the Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, said the tariff war with Canada is “insane” and voiced his willingness to help end the war.
Additionally, after Democrats take control of the House and Senate in January, they could introduce legislation aimed at changing Trump’s tariff policies.
Greer said he looks forward to working with the U.S. Congress on tariffs, despite it now being controlled by Democrats.
“To be honest, I think we’ve seen nuanced language from some members up there about tariffs that make sense and that could be helpful,” he said. “So I think there’s room to work with them.”
