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news analysis
After President Trump suspended trade talks with Canada over its controversial digital services tax, Ottawa scrapped it to get back to the negotiating table.
June 30, 2025Updated 7:28 p.m. ET
An about-face by Canada amid trade negotiations with the United States was welcomed on Monday by the Trump administration as a victory.
But for the Canadian government, it may have just been a calculated tactical retreat.
On Friday President Trump said he was suspending trade talks because Canada was about to start collecting a tax on big American technology companies, a levy that he has criticized as a “blatant attack.”
On Sunday evening, hours before that tax came into effect, the Canadian government announced it was scrapping it.
Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada said the decision was meant to allow the resumption of trade talks with the United States.
“In our negotiations on a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States, Canada’s new government will always be guided by the overall contribution of any possible agreement to the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses,” he said in a statement.
On Monday morning, talks were back on, but the White House did not miss the opportunity to take a victory lap.
