Trump and Carney discuss steel and auto trade deal after August collapse

Summary

Mark Carney and Donald Trump spoke by phone on Saturday and spent the call discussing a trade deal. The story begins on August 21, when Ottawa walked away from talks just before a midnight deadline. Within hours, 50% tariffs hit roughly US$20 billion of Canadian goods. Washington's last-minute demands had included cutting medium and heavy trucks from auto relief, limiting Canada's right to sign other trade deals and narrowing French-language protections.

On Sunday, Carney posted that the call was a good conversation and that his teams would work in the coming weeks on a deal that creates jobs, boosts affordability and fully respects Canada's languages, culture and sovereignty. The video argues that the word "fully" signals the August demands will not return in a softer form. Canada and the European Union also launched a new economic and security alliance in Montreal on October 30.

The video cautions that everything known about the call comes from Ottawa's side. The White House has not issued a statement, nothing has been signed and no tariff has changed. With US midterm elections on Tuesday, the video suggests Washington may stay quiet until the polls close.

Key points

• Canadian steel faces US tariffs of up to 50%, and Canadian autos face 25%.
• Trump's threat would raise tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, parts and steel to 50% on January 1, 2027.
• 50% tariffs hit roughly US$20 billion of Canadian goods after talks collapsed in August.
• Canada signed 20 trade and security agreements outside the US in a single year.
• In 2025, Canadian exports to non-US markets rose 11.1%, while exports to the US fell 3.7%.
• Nearly one-third of Canada's exports now go somewhere other than America.

Questions answered