DOJ Reportedly Ordered to Freeze Antitrust Cooperation With Canada as Trade Fight Escalates

The Justice Department’s antitrust division was reportedly instructed to halt cooperation with Canadian authorities this week as tensions between President Donald Trump’s administration and Canada continue to intensify.

Lynda Marshall, chief of the antitrust division’s international section, reportedly instructed officials Wednesday to stop cooperating with Canadian authorities on cases and policy matters.

The reported directive did not provide a reason for the move, which emerged as Washington and Ottawa remain locked in an increasingly bitter trade dispute.

Antitrust division section chiefs were also reportedly told Friday to compile lists detailing areas in which the Justice Department currently cooperates with Canada.

The Justice Department, however, strongly disputed reports that it had ordered a broad freeze on cooperation.

The department said the alleged directive to halt all antitrust work with Canada “was never given to anyone.”

According to the DOJ, officials were merely instructed to temporarily postpone a scheduled meeting involving one specific investigation so the department’s antitrust team could have additional time to prepare.

The conflicting accounts come at a particularly tense moment in relations between the United States and its northern neighbor.

Trump has dramatically increased economic pressure on Canada since returning to the White House, using tariffs and other measures in an effort to reshape the longstanding trade relationship.

The administration recently imposed 50% tariffs on approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian goods.

Canada is now preparing to retaliate, with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government announcing that new tariffs against American products will take effect Sept. 8.

Carney has vowed that Canada will match Washington’s latest tariffs “dollar for dollar,” arguing that the response is necessary to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses.

The tariff battle has already affected tens of billions of dollars in cross-border commerce between two countries that have historically maintained one of the world’s closest economic relationships.

Trump has also increased political pressure on Ottawa outside the tariff dispute.

The president recently signed an executive order directing the U.S. federal government to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” a move that sparked immediate backlash from Canadian leaders.

The name change applies only to the U.S. federal government and does not require Canada, international organizations or individual American states to adopt the new designation.

Against that backdrop, any significant reduction in cooperation between American and Canadian antitrust officials would represent another deterioration in relations between the neighboring countries.

For now, however, the scope of the reported antitrust freeze remains disputed. Reports indicate Justice Department officials were told to halt cooperation and document existing work with Canada, while the department insists no sweeping order was issued and only a single meeting was temporarily delayed.