Former CUSMA negotiator warns of ‘challenging’ future for Canada-U.S. digital trade

OTTAWA—Online streamer payments and sovereign cloud capacity continue to shape the digital trade “battleground” facing Canadian and U.S. officials, according to the country’s former top trade negotiator. Addressing the International Institute of Communications’s annual conference in Ottawa, Steve Verheul said bilateral disagreements over digital and cultural issues remain unresolved following the collapse of Canada-U.S. trade discussions earlier this summer. “We’ve got some challenging times ahead in the months and years,” said Verheul, who headed negotiations during the development of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). “When it comes to communication-related issues digital sovereignty…, I think Canada has to make it very clear where its lines are because this is going to be an issue that will move very fast, and the U.S. is going to push very hard.” For Verheul, now a principal at GT and Co, U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House has "accelerated" a protectionist stance initiated by his predecessor Joe Biden, whose administration repeatedly took issue with Canada’s Digital Services Tax and streamer contribution requirements introduced under the Online Streaming Act. Since his election, Trump’s White House has ramped up the attacks and Canada has indicated both policies will be eliminated or significantly reworked in the near future. However, Verheul said questions remain regarding the fate of several marquee digital policies that continue to be advanced by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s (Nepean, Ont.) government, including efforts to increase Canada’s data sovereignty and measures to support news publishers across the country. “What about the Online News Act? What about concerns about Canada’s plans on the sovereign cloud issue? What about digital controls and autonomy more broadly?” asked Verheul on Monday. “We can’t expect the U.S. is simply going to be dropping these issues they’ve listed them as fairly fundamental concerns that they intend to pursue.” It has been a turbulent stretch for industry stakeholders and experts, after Jamieson Greer, Trump’s top trade representative, hinted at agreed-upon “digital trade alignment” between Canada and the U.S. as part of what appeared to be a looming comprehensive agreement between the two countries. But Carney’s decision to walk away from the negotiation table in August, which was reportedly motivated by U.S. overtures on Canadian discoverability measures and French-language protections, has sparked an increased focus on diversifying Canada’s digital trading policies. “I think Canada needs to work more closely with allies in the EU (European Union) and elsewhere to develop a more united position on issues like sovereign cloud, data control more broadly, and related issues,” Verheul told attendees at the National Arts Centre. “Others are still fighting the digital sales tax battle as well, and that's an important one that hopefully is not going to be entirely broken.” Canada and the EU are set to co-host a large-scale summit in Brussels later this month, which is designed to help strengthen ties between the two jurisdictions. However, Verheul continued, the U.S. tech industry gives American officials a strong hand in any multilateral discussions regarding digital issues. Verheul’s warnings segued into the following panel on CUSMA and cultural issues, which couldn’t find a positive note to end on “ has an advantage,” he said. "They have all the key companies that are involved in this. They're going to protect their interests [and advance their interests as much as they can.” “So, we need to be aware of just what kind of stakes are involved, and we need to be prepared to take them on. Hopefully, we’re not alone, but we have to be prepared.” Verheul’s warnings provided an appropriate segue into the conference’s first panel on the future of CUSMA, which featured Carleton University professor Meredith Lilly, a former staffer to Prime MInister Stephen Harper, and policy expert Eric Miller, both of whom struggled to find a silver lining to the situation facing Canada. When asked if she had any thoughts that could end the discussion on an upbeat note, Lilly said simply — “I don’t.” “The one thing I would say is I do think this is a moment for Canadians to decide what we want to pay for,” she added. “The idea that we’re going to be able to pay for Canadian culture with American money, I don’t think is a likely future, at least not any time soon.” dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Former CUSMA negotiator warns of ‘challenging’ future for Canada-U.S. digital trade

Regulatory |
By Davis Legree
|October 19, 2026

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