Minister LeBlanc Says He’s ‘Reassured’ by Talk With Trump Trade Official

Canada–U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he was “reassured” in talking with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that senior U.S. administration officials understand Canada is not pursuing a free trade agreement with China.

LeBlanc told reporters in Ottawa on Jan. 26 that he had a “cordial, lengthy conversation” with Greer on Jan. 25 about Canada’s commitment under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) “not to enter into free trade discussions with countries that do not have a market economy.”

He said he reiterated that Canada is committed to this position and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent visit to China was “not at all” in the context of pursuing a free trade agreement with Beijing. He also said Greer understood “very well” that Canada has a “narrow” trade agreement with China that deals with specific sectors that had been impacted by tariffs in the last couple of years, which he noted is similar to deals the U.S. administration made with China last fall.

“I was reassured that Ambassador Greer understood very clearly what the agreement is and what it’s not,” LeBlanc said. “He and I talked about other examples of those bilateral arrangements.

“Again, what was reassuring is his clear desire to work with us and Mexico in terms of a review of [USMCA] and we agreed to chat later this week and to get together in the next few weeks,” he added.

The Epoch Times contacted Greer’s office but didn’t immediately hear back.

LeBlanc remarks echoed Carney’s comments to reporters on Jan. 25 when he said Canada has “no intention” of pursuing a free trade agreement with China, “or any other non-market economy.” “What we’ve done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years,” he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made several posts on Truth Social over the last few days expressing concerns about Canada’s recent agreements with China, and said if Canada “makes a deal with China,” it would be subject to 100 percent tariffs on all Canadian goods exported to the United States.

Other members of his cabinet have expressed similar concerns, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying Canada’s latest agreement with China could allow “cheap goods” to enter the United States and jeopardize Canada’s position in USMCA renegotiations later this year.

Carney signed a series of agreements with Beijing during his trip to China earlier this month. One agreement included slashing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports from 100 percent to 6.1 percent for the first 49,000 vehicles in exchange for a reduction of Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola from 85 percent to 15 percent.

While in China, Carney said Ottawa is in a “strategic partnership” with Beijing, and that the progress made in the partnership “sets us up well for the new world order.” He also said relations between Ottawa and Beijing had entered a “new era.”

‘We Have Decided Not to React’

When asked by reporters about Trump’s recent remarks on Canada, LeBlanc said, “We have decided not to react on a daily basis to the statements of the U.S. administration—its secretaries who are often on the U.S. networks—it’s not really useful for us to react.”

He added, “For us, what is useful is to have a coherent discussion with our partners Mexico and the United States for the USMCA review.”

LeBlanc said discussions with Mexico are going “very well,” and noted he will be going to Mexico again “in a few weeks.”

He reiterated that he was reassured by his conversation with Greer on the “shared need of having a discussion that’s normal and focused on the things we want to improve in the USMCA.” He said he’s “confident” he will continue these discussions with Greer during the coming weeks.

Carney also said on Jan. 26 that Trump’s reactions to him, along with the tariff threats he has made toward Canada in recent days, could be part of the U.S. president’s negotiating tactics. In addition to Trump’s 100 percent tariff threat, Trump also rescinded an invitation for Carney to join his “Board of Peace.”

“The president is a strong negotiator and I view, I think, some of these comments and positioning should be viewed in the broader context,” Carney said, citing the upcoming USMCA review.

Tensions between Carney and Trump heightened after the two leaders criticized each other’s comments on U.S.–Canada and international relations in public speeches at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week.

Asked by reporters on Jan. 26 whether he regrets certain parts of his speech, or if he thinks he might have gone too far, Carney said in French, “Not a word. Not at all.”

Trump has said in a series of social media posts that Canada’s deal with China will work against Canada and could jeopardize its relations with the United States.

“Canada is systematically destroying itself. The China deal is a disaster for them. Will go down as one of the worst deals, of any kind, in history,” Trump said on Jan. 25.

“If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken,” he said in another post on Jan. 24.

Noé Chartier contributed to this report.