Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump may sign a trade agreement on steel, aluminum and energy at the APEC summit in late October, The Globe and Mail reported.
Such an agreement could be “welcome relief for the Canadian steel industry, which has been hit hardest by the introduction of US tariffs“, the newspaper noted, citing sources. However, it is emphasized that the US is not ready to conclude an agreement on cars or lumber - the two most important Canadian exports to the US.
On October 7, Carney and Trump met in Washington. According to the National Post, after the meeting, the leaders instructed their aides to quickly conclude any necessary trade agreements between the two countries. However, Trump did not publicly respond to repeated questions about whether it was possible to resolve the bitter trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa, reach a new agreement on this issue and reduce US tariffs on imports.
After Ottawa and Washington failed to reach a trade agreement by August 1, Trump issued an executive order raising tariffs from 25% to 35% on a number of goods not covered by the Canada-Mexico-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Canada has been trying unsuccessfully to reach a trade agreement with the United States for several months. Meanwhile, tariffs on steel and aluminum are currently at 50%.
Ottawa lifted some retaliatory import duties on a range of U.S. goods on September 1, amid a trade deficit that hit a record high of C$19.5 billion (about $14 billion) in the second quarter of 2025. No data is available for the third quarter.