Prime Minister Mark Carney met with a bipartisan group of four U.S. senators on Parliament Hill on 21 July to discuss ways to defuse escalating trade tensions before an Aug. 1 deadline set by President Donald Trump. The delegation—Democrats Ron Wyden, Maggie Hassan and Catherine Cortez Masto, along with Republican Lisa Murkowski—pressed Ottawa to “reinvigorate” the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) rather than allow talks to lapse under the weight of new U.S. protectionist measures. Trump has threatened to impose a blanket 35 per cent tariff on Canadian imports unless the two governments reach a fresh economic and security arrangement. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on U.S. television that 75 per cent of Canadian goods would remain tariff-free under current CUSMA rules, but steel, aluminum, autos and forestry products could face higher duties without a deal. After the meeting, Wyden said the senators saw strengthening CUSMA as the quickest path to restoring investor confidence and averting the tariff. Carney indicated he was open to accelerating the 2026 review of the pact and was “receptive” to U.S. suggestions that Canada permanently scrap its shelved digital services tax and consider a quota on softwood-lumber exports. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand joined the discussions, which took place just ahead of a three-day premiers’ summit in Muskoka where trade is expected to dominate the agenda.