Trump’s top trade negotiator blames Canada for tariff escalation; Ottawa says it’s ready to talk

Official portrait of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer
Official portrait of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Credit: Office of the United States Trade Representative, public domain (U.S. government work).

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada is responsible for Washington’s latest escalation in the trade dispute, calling Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs “senseless retaliation” against what he described as a “near-final trade deal that offered better treatment than any other trading partner.”

The exchange follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s signing on September 8 of five proclamations banning most Canadian alcohol, dairy and motorcycle imports, effective September 29, and adjusting the U.S. tariff product list effective September 15 — targeting roughly \$20 billion in Canadian exports, according to a White House fact sheet.

Canada’s trade minister, Dominic LeBlanc, said Canada is ready to “work in good faith and constructively towards a more secure mutually beneficial trading relationship that fully respects Canadian sovereignty” once Washington is ready to engage.

Source: Canadian Press wire report and Global News, 9 September 2026, citing statements from USTR Jamieson Greer and Minister Dominic LeBlanc; White House fact sheet, “President Donald J. Trump Responds to Canada’s Retaliation,” 8 September 2026.

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