1. A long call with Trump puts the trade file back in motion
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Saturday, November 14, 2026, that he held a lengthy conversation with United States President Donald Trump before leaving for Europe and Asia, and that the two countries are making progress toward a trade deal. He spoke to reporters in Manila, where he is visiting the Philippines ahead of a summit that starts Sunday. The Associated Press and Reuters reported his remarks on Saturday. Carney said the two sides have yet to reach an agreement, and he avoided calling the talks a breakthrough. His words mark the clearest sign yet that the trade file is moving again after talks collapsed in August.
"I had quite a long, substantive conversation with President Trump just before leaving for this trip," Carney told reporters. "We are making progress. There is the possibility of a deal, a bilateral deal. But we're not yet there." The call took place before Carney left for Europe and Asia. United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Stephen Miller, the new White House chief of staff, also took part. Their presence shows the talks now run through the top of the Trump administration. Carney had already pointed to a constructive exchange on November 1, and on November 3 he said Washington had reduced some of its demands and improved its offers.
Carney drew a firm line on one sector. He said Canada would not accept a deal that undermines its auto industry, which has been hit hard by American tariffs. The auto sector sits at the center of the dispute, since plants in Ontario ship parts and finished vehicles across the border every day. Any deal that leaves those plants exposed would face sharp pushback at home. Carney's remark sets a public test for the talks: progress counts only if the auto industry comes out intact. Firms in the sector will read every draft with that test in mind.
2. August collapse set the terms for the current round
The two countries suspended trade talks in August after last-minute American demands that Ottawa called unacceptable. The break froze a file that had run for months and left exporters facing duties that could change with each round of talks. Since then the two sides have resumed discussions in fits and starts, with leaders' calls doing much of the work. Trump has said the two countries had developed the basic concept of an agreement, although important details remained unfinished. The November 14 call is the latest sign that the channel between the two leaders is open again.
Tariffs still in force include Section 232 duties of up to 25 percent on automobiles and up to 50 percent on certain steel products. Reuters reported in October that officials were discussing possible relief from those duties. A deal could cut some of the levies, with steel and aluminum among the sectors most likely to gain. Until a text exists, exporters must plan around rates that can shift without warning. The talks matter most to firms that move goods across the border every day, since each point of duty lands straight on their margins.
The August collapse also changed how Ottawa talks about the file. Carney no longer frames the United States as the only market that counts, and his Asia trip carries that message in plain terms. A deal with Washington would ease the pressure, yet the government is signing agreements elsewhere at the same time. That twin track gives Canada more room in the talks, since Washington is no longer the only path open to Ottawa. The next test is whether the leaders' call turns into a written text that firms can read and price.
3. ASEAN and Philippines deals anchor the Asia push
Carney used the same trip to announce that Canada has substantially concluded free trade negotiations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a bloc of nearly 700 million people. Canada also completed separate negotiations with the Philippines. Both agreements form part of Canada's push to cut its reliance on the United States while the trade war runs. Carney has made doubling Canadian exports to countries other than the United States by 2035 a central goal of his government. The deals give Canadian exporters new routes into fast-growing markets, and they show Ottawa is willing to sign agreements far from the North American market.
The Canadian government estimates the ASEAN agreement could add nearly 2 billion Canadian dollars, about 1.4 billion American dollars, to Canada's economy and create almost 14,000 jobs, with gains in agriculture and manufacturing. Officials hope to sign the agreement next year. The Philippines agreement, also expected to be signed next year, covers more than 90 percent of tariff lines. Carney said the agreement could help triple Canadian exports to the Philippines by 2035. Total trade between the two countries stood at about 2.4 billion dollars in 2025, and the deal covers areas from agriculture to aerospace and artificial intelligence.
The two deals took years to reach this point. Negotiations with ASEAN began in November 2021, while formal talks with the Philippines were announced in October 2025 and opened with a first round in Manila in February 2026. In September, International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told Reuters that both sets of negotiations were more than 90 percent complete. Canada-ASEAN merchandise trade reached about 52.5 billion Canadian dollars. The numbers show why Ottawa treats Southeast Asia as a real market, not a side trip, and why the signing dates next year will matter to exporters.
4. A four-stop tour ties trade to a wider reset
The trip itself shows how wide Carney's travel has become. He attended the European Political Community summit in Ireland before flying to Manila for the ASEAN summit, which starts Sunday. He will also attend the Francophonie summit in Cambodia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, where he is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping. The schedule puts trade talks with Washington inside a larger effort to open markets in Europe and Asia at the same time. Each stop carries its own agenda, from alliance talks in Europe to market access in Asia.
Carney arrived in Manila early on Saturday, November 14, and met Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. later in the morning. The 49th ASEAN Summit runs from November 15 to 17, and Trump is expected to reach Manila on November 17 for an ASEAN-United States engagement. Carney has said he expects another conversation with Trump at one of the gatherings. A face-to-face exchange in Manila or Shenzhen could keep the momentum going, even if no text is ready to sign. For now, the channel between the two leaders is the main thing moving the file.
Carney also used the Manila stop to speak about security. He said Canada would not walk away from NATO, and that the security architecture for a free Europe would be decided by a free Europe and NATO, not Russia. The remark ties the trade talks to a wider set of ties between Canada, the United States, and Europe. For now, the trade file has moved from a dead stop in August to a live negotiation in November. The next step is a text both sides can sign, and the next test is whether the auto terms in that text meet the line Carney drew in public.