US-Canada trade talks crumble as internal disputes over French language rules surface

Negotiations to prevent a trade war between the United States and Canada unraveled when Prime Minister Mark Carney accused U.S. negotiators of threatening French language and cultural safeguards, a point he said derailed the deal. Trade representative Jamieson Greer, a fluent French speaker who once served as a missionary in Europe, rejected the allegation as a “funny, fake story” and later affirmed that the administration recognizes the importance of French in Canada.

The impasse was compounded by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s resistance to the scale of tariff reductions on Canadian steel, aluminium and automobiles, sectors he deems critical to national security under the 1962 Trade Expansion Act. Observers note that Greer’s role overlaps with Lutnick’s Section 232 investigations, creating internal tension within the Trump administration’s trade team. Former negotiator Wendy Cutler praised Greer’s calm approach but acknowledged the difficulty of reconciling competing mandates. Analysts argue that while Trump ultimately drives the tariff agenda, the Canada episode may signal a broader challenge for U.S. trade partners confronting similar pressures.