Trump says a Canada trade deal is close as Greer presses for talks and Carney says work remains

President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview on Tuesday that a trade deal with Canada is close¹⁰. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said work remains⁶. Carney said “more intense” trade negotiations with the United States have started¹⁰, and that the more intensive talks began after a call with Trump¹¹.

Within the administration, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is urging Trump to resume trade negotiations with Canada and resolve the tariff dispute². Greer’s sense of urgency contrasts with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Greer has had discussions with Canadian counterparts¹. A statement quoted alongside Lutnick’s name said “the whole Trump Administration is onboard as we engage with Canada and work towards finalizing the details” of an agreement³.

Why it matters to investors

Washington and Ottawa are attempting a trade truce with renewed talks⁷. Any deal would sit alongside the USMCA, the trade agreement Trump negotiated during his first term⁷.

Trump’s comments signal that a deal could come soon as talks advance⁹, and they come as tariff tensions ease⁵. Other coverage is more cautious: both countries have signaled little change in their positions since talks collapsed⁸. Carney’s insistence that work remains is the Canadian side of that gap⁶.

The trade representative’s push and the commerce secretary’s different stance show that the administration is not speaking with a single voice on how fast to move^1,2. Greer’s stated aim is to get negotiations restarted and the tariff dispute resolved². Those contacts with Canadian counterparts are already taking place at the level of the trade representative’s office¹.

What to watch

The first question is whether the more intense talks Carney described produce a text both governments accept, and on what timeline^10,11. Trump has said a deal is close, while Carney says work remains, and the two statements will be tested in the coming rounds^5,6.

The second is whether Greer’s urgency prevails inside the administration over Lutnick’s approach¹. With positions little changed since the earlier talks collapsed, the details of any tariff relief will matter more than statements of progress^2,8. A settlement would also bear on the broader USMCA relationship Trump negotiated in his first term⁷.