Lutnick blames Carney, politics for collapse of trade talks

WASHINGTON, D.C. - JULY 16: U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick attends an address to the nation by President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump was expected to speak on election security. (Photo by Saul Loeb/Pool - Getty Images) Photo by Saul Loeb/Pool - Getty Images

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United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick accused Canada of scuttling trade talks by adding last-minute demands, saying Prime Minister Mark Carney had political incentives to kill an emerging deal.

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Lutnick on Thursday accused Carney of snuffing out the deal in order to consolidate political support ahead of October’s preliminary independence vote in the province of Alberta and elections in Quebec.

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“We’re just being used by them, right? That’s why it ended. It didn’t happen for math. The math was sensational, it’s a great deal that we shook hands” Lutnick told reporters in Washington.

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The comments from the Commerce chief are the latest in a war of words between the two countries, who have pointed fingers at each other over the collapse, and yet another signal that negotiations between the two countries are unlikely to resume soon. President Donald Trump’s move Thursday to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” will also leave Carney little political space to resume talks.

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The two countries were at odds in particular over tariff relief for medium and heavy-duty trucks, according to people familiar with the matter, with Canada pressing for the same reduction as passenger vehicles. The U.S. resisted granting that request. The difference would have had a material impact on two major Canadian auto production plants.

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Lutnick said he only saw the issue raised Friday, hours before talks broke down.

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“The words ‘medium and heavy-duty trucks’ were raised in these trade negotiations at Friday at 4 o’clock,” he said, calling it “a different thing” than passenger vehicles. “These were things they put in in order to make it end.”

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Canadian officials have said previously that talks fell apart for a range of reasons, including heavy trucks, and that the text of the deal did not match their understanding of what was verbally agreed to.

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Canada consistently and repeatedly raised the issue of including medium and heavy-duty trucks in tariff relief over the course of weeks of negotiations, according to one Canadian official and another person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe private negotiations.

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Carney’s office did not immediately respond for a request for comment on Lutnick’s remarks.

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Canada’s negotiating team dealt primarily with the office of the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Lutnick played a prominent role in the final days of negotiations, with people familiar with the dynamics saying he viewed the terms as too favourable to Canada and pushed for the deal to be scrapped. Canadian officials have sidestepped questions about his role in the collapse.

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The sudden collapse of trade negotiations last Friday triggered a spiralling trade war between the U.S. and Canada — with Trump imposing 50 per cent levies on about US$20 billion in Canadian exports and Carney announcing retaliatory duties that take effect on Sept. 8, targeting roughly the same volume of sales but with lower tariff increases.

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