LeBlanc says it’s not a ‘one-way conversation’ after G7 meeting with U.S. trade rep

ÉVIAN-LES-BAINS – Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said talks with his American counterpart on a critical continental trade pact are not a “one-way conversation” as the United States continues to signal it will not rubber-stamp an extension.

LeBlanc and Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette met with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the G7 in France on Tuesday.

“We talked about a number of other issues that the United States raises with us,” LeBlanc told reporters. “But we also talked about issues that are important to Canadian workers and the Canadian economy.”

LeBlanc and Greer met in Washington earlier this month after Ottawa and Mexico City sent letters to Washington saying they want a 16-year extension of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA.

The trade pact sets up a three-way choice for each country to make on July 1. They can renew the deal for another 16 years, withdraw from it or start an annual rolling review process that can last for up to a decade.

The United States has not publicly stated its intensions but Greer has said repeatedly that negotiations will continue beyond the July 1 date. If the United States blows past the deadline, the agreement does stay in place as talks continue.

Trump has threatened the future of CUSMA, calling it “irrelevant.” Greer has said both that he’d be open to two separate bilateral agreements and that there are “pillars” of the continental trade pact that work well.

LeBlanc did not give details about Tuesday’s talks with Greer but said they “took stock ” of the work done since the Washington meeting and agreed to get in contact again soon.

“We made progress in resolving with Jamieson a number of issues that the United States Trade Representative has raised over a number months with Canada,” LeBlanc said.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative released its annual document outlining trade irritants with different nations in March. It flagged provincial rules on alcohol sales, delays in aircraft validation and the federal government’s “Buy Canadian” procurement policy, as well as long-standing complaints about Canada’s supply management system and lumber industry.

The vast majority of Canadian exports to the United States have been shielded from Trump’s blanket tariffs because they’re in compliance with CUSMA. Canada is being slammed by Trump’s separate tariffs on industries like steel, aluminum, automobiles and cabinetry.

Greer has said that Canada has been difficult to deal with on trade and that trade talks with Ottawa are lagging behind those with Mexico City.

Official negotiations between Mexico and the United States have launched but Ottawa and Washington have not started talks yet.

Trade talks between Washington and Ottawa were frozen last October after Trump was angered by an Ontario-funded ad quoting former U.S. president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

The relationship thawed in March and Greer and LeBlanc have been in regular contact since.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2026.

— With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington