Carney to leave G7 summit without formal meeting with Trump, but says it’s not a snub
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- Carney said he is leaving the summit without a formal bilateral with Trump but dismissed any snub, noting he had "seven or eight discussions" with the president over 36 hours covering the economy, AI, Ukraine, Iran, and Trump's birthday.
- Trump told reporters the U.S. "would do better without" the USMCA and would prefer not to negotiate a new one, though he said he was open to it; the trilateral agreement binding Canada, the U.S., and Mexico is up for renewal July 1.
- Canada sends roughly 75% of its exports to the U.S., making the USMCA's fate critical; trade minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief negotiator Janice Charette met U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer at the summit, with LeBlanc reporting "progress."
- LeBlanc has previously suggested the Trump administration may push for annual USMCA reviews to inject uncertainty about the deal's permanence.
- Macron is the only G7 leader to secure a formal bilateral with Trump at the summit, though Trump also held one-on-ones with leaders of Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, and India.
- A hot microphone captured Carney telling Trump Canada is capping Chinese EV imports at under 3% of its market — 49,000 cars — after dropping Canada's 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products; Trump replied, "That's good, I like it."
Why it matters: With 75% of Canadian exports destined for the U.S. and the USMCA up for renewal July 1, Trump's open hostility to the deal — even as negotiators report "progress" — leaves Canada facing a trade relationship that could shift to annual, review-by-review terms, stripping the agreement of the certainty Canadian exporters depend on.
