Canada, U.S. may not get sectoral deals before CUSMA renewal, Carney says

Canada and the United States may not end up with specific sectoral trade deals — rather, those talks may “roll into” a renewed Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade deal, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday.

In October, U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled trade talks with Canada after Ontario aired an anti-tariff ad featuring former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.

The U.S. currently has multiple rounds of tariffs on key sectors of the Canadian economy, including steel, aluminum, autos and lumber.

While talks have been aimed at getting trade deals for those sectors that could see the U.S. tariffs lifted, Carney said that with the clock ticking towards the CUSMA review set for 2026, those talks might fold into a broader CUSMA negotiation.

“My judgment is that is now going to roll into the broader CUSMA negotiations. We’re unlikely, given the time horizon coming together, to have a sectoral agreement. Although (if) the United States wants to come back on that in those areas, we’re always ready there,” Carney said.

Earlier this week, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told members of Congress that a review of CUSMA would depend on Canada meeting certain trade conditions, including on dairy.

Greer said Canada’s policies “unfairly restrict market access for U.S. dairy products.”

On Thursday, Carney said Canada will not budge on supply management in the dairy sector – a policy that Trump has attacked in the past.

“We’ve been clear about our approach to supply management. We continue to stand by that. We’ll continue to protect supply management,” Carney told reporters.

The U.S. also wants provinces to lift their bans on U.S. alcohol, Greer said.

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Premier Doug Ford said Ontario would continue its prohibition of U.S. booze on LCBO shelves.

“As for alcohol, we’ve seen (Canadian) wine sales go up 76 per cent. They’re having a record year. The grape growers are having a record year. Small (and) large wineries are having a record year. Distilleries are (too),” Ford said.

“When the prime minister and President Trump come up with a great deal for both countries, we’d be more than happy to bring in some Kentucky bourbon. But until then, we’re going to hold off.”

Earlier this month, Carney met Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Washington, D.C., where the three attended the draw of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be jointly hosted by all three nations.

Carney said he had “a long conversation” with the two presidents about renewing CUSMA.

“We set out the broad parameters for the review of CUSMA,” Carney said of those conversations.