Trade tensions between US and Canada expose divisions within Trump's negotiating team
US trade representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appear to have diverged on key tariff concessions, derailing last-minute negotiations and triggering accusations that the US was moving the goalposts.
What happened
Bilateral US-Canada trade talks collapsed at the last minute after apparent disagreement between US negotiators. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney claimed Canada had come 'under attack' from the US and cited US objections to Canadian legal protections for the French language—including legislation mandating streaming and online video companies to invest in and promote Canadian content and the French language—as a deal-breaker. Carney also pointed to disunity among US negotiators as a reason Canada abandoned talks. Reports indicate Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick objected to the scale of proposed tariff reductions on Canadian steel, aluminium, and cars, sectors under his purview following Trump's national security designation. Trade representative Greer, defending himself against accusations of francophobia, initially dismissed language concerns but later signaled a softer US position, telling CBC that the US government 'recognizes the importance and sensitivity of the French language in Canada.' Trump publicly signed an executive order supposedly changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. The White House has denied claims of division between Greer and Lutnick.
Context
The collapse threatens an all-out trade war between two economies tightly intertwined. The episode reveals structural tension in Trump's trade decision-making: Greer holds the formal trade negotiating role while Lutnick controls Section 232 investigations that restrict foreign imports on national security grounds—the mechanism used for steel, aluminium, and auto restrictions. According to observers, this division of authority is unusual and can create coordination problems, especially when high-stakes negotiations reach critical stages. The apparent willingness of different US officials to concede different points may have signaled shifting US positions to Canada, undermining negotiator credibility. Greer's limited ability to manage Trump's public actions—such as the Lake Ontario rename—illustrates the constraints on technocratic deal-makers within this administration's trade apparatus.
What's disputed
The White House denies claims of division between Greer and Lutnick, but Canadian officials, US trade experts, and press reporting characterize the disagreement as real and consequential.