Carney says Canada and U.S. held detailed trade talks at G7

Mark Carney said Canada and the United States used the G7 summit in Évian, France, for detailed trade talks that went beyond diplomatic niceties, even as Donald Trump again questioned the future of the North American trade deal. The discussions came just days before the first joint review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on July 1, a deadline that could determine whether the pact stays in force for another decade or begins a countdown toward termination in 2036.

Carney said he and his team held several informal conversations with Trump at the summit, though no formal bilateral meeting was scheduled. Reuters reported that Carney left Évian without that sit-down, but the contacts still pointed to active negotiations rather than a frozen dispute. Carney said the talks covered commercial issues, and he identified forestry products as one area where the two countries could still work together.

Trump’s comments underscored how much is at stake. He said the United States would do better without the trade agreement and that he would prefer not to have a new one, though he later said he was open to doing one. That matters because the USMCA review is not symbolic: if Canada, the United States and Mexico do not agree to extend the deal by July 1, 2026, the agreement is scheduled to remain in place until July 1, 2036, while the countries keep negotiating changes.

The review process has already moved well beyond politics. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative launched public consultations in September 2025 and set a public hearing for November 17. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard opened bilateral technical talks in March, while Canada published its recommendations for the CUSMA joint review on June 1 after meeting provincial and territorial trade ministers on May 26. That sequence shows governments are working through specific rules, not just trading threats.

The broader backdrop is a strained Canada-U.S. relationship shaped by tariff disputes and friction over Canada’s digital-services tax. The G7 leaders’ summit itself also featured declarations on supply chains, digital space and other issues, giving Carney and Trump a setting where trade could be discussed alongside wider economic security concerns. For Canada, the immediate goal is preserving access to its largest market without conceding too much politically at home. For Washington, the talks suggest a push for leverage and a chance to reshape the rules that govern North American trade.