Washington DC – US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer laid the blame for stalled trade talks on Canada's decision to impose retaliatory tariffs in response to President Donald Trump's trade war.

Speaking with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News Business on Tuesday, Greer said he's currently focused on addressing "flaws" in the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which President Donald Trump signed in his first term.

Greer pointed out that one of the Trump administration's biggest concerns is that third countries are using Canada and Mexico, and by proxy the USMCA, to get goods into the US tariff-free.

This topic has dominated ongoing trade talks with President Claudia Sheinbaum's government in Mexico, and Greer hinted at it being a point of contention with Prime Minister Mark Carney's government in Canada.

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"We are trying to change those rules, we call them rules of origin, to make sure that people aren't using Mexico as a third country hub," Greer told Bartiromo.

"We would expect the same for Canada, when we're able to get to some kind of an arrangement with them," he said. "Right now they have a different approach to the United States. They have some retaliatory tariffs still in effect and that makes it a problem for us to negotiate."

The USMCA is due for review on July 1, 2026, but its future has been under question since Trump suggested in January that the agreement is "irrelevant."

Canada's US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with Greer last week in Washington for discussions about the USMCA and the ongoing tariff regime.

He described the conversations as "positive" and indicated Canada is looking to remove US tariffs on steel, aluminum, and autos, a move which would likely see Ottawa drop its retaliatory tariffs.