Canada's minister responsible for US trade said on Thursday that he welcomed fresh comments from the US indicating that French language requirements were not a deal breaker in trade talks that collapsed between the neighbouring countries.

"Canada welcomes that the US is now withdrawing its positions on discoverability and labelling and is confirming that measures to promote French language and Canadian culture will not be subject to future US trade actions," Dominic LeBlanc said in a post on X.

"We look forward to further constructive US clarifications on their other positions which would create the possibility of a mutually beneficial trade agreement that respects Canadian sovereignty."

The comments appeared to be an effort to lower tensions after the Trump administration imposed new 50-percent tariffs on US$20 billion of Canadian imports on Saturday after negotiations broke down.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Saturday that talks to avert new US tariffs had faltered after US negotiators proposed last-minute changes, including some that put Canada's French-language rules at risk.

English and French are the official languages of Canada.

The United States has objected to Canadian and Quebec measures affecting online streaming services, including proposed requirements aimed at promoting French-language content.

The Office of the US Trade Representative had listed the requirements as a trade barrier in its 2026 National Trade Estimate report.

But US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday that the issue had not been a deal breaker.

"The United States, we always have questions about this. This is something we talked about, but we showed a lot of flexibility. And our view is there is no way, you know, we would let a good deal go by for something like this ... It's like the farthest thing from a red line," Greer said in an interview with CBC News on Wednesday.

He also said that for now the Trump administration has no open channel of communication with the Canadian government.

Canada on Tuesday announced retaliatory tariffs on about US$20 billion worth of US imports. They take effect on September 8.


Edited by Aaron Tam