Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he and US President Donald Trump have agreed to intensify trade negotiations, but warned he would consider all options if the tariffs Trump threatened on Monday go ahead. Carney made his remarks to journalists on Tuesday after he and Trump spoke.
Trump on Monday unveiled plans for 50 percent tariffs on a wide range of imports from Canada in retaliation for what he described as discriminatory treatment of US-made cars, alcohol and dairy goods. Relations between Canada and its largest trading partner have been tested by Trump’s repeated jibes to make Canada the 51st state, disagreements over a new bridge and sharp comments about wildfire smoke.
The tariffs came just before US and Mexican trade negotiators met for a third round of bilateral talks, without Canada. “I’ve spoken with the president; we agree to intensify discussions. We’ll begin that right away, and this is part of the negotiation. So the first objective is to get a comprehensive agreement,” Carney told reporters.
Trump, when asked whether Canada tariffs were in response to the wildfires, said: “No, that’s separate. We’re looking at that separately.” Carney said that Canadian provinces should only lift their bans on US alcohol as part of a broader US trade deal. Nearly every Canadian province except for Alberta and Saskatchewan has banned or severely restricted the sale of American beer, wine and spirits in response to earlier US tariffs.
Leaders of Canada’s provinces meeting this week in Prince Edward Island blasted the new tariffs. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada should respond “dollar for dollar”, while Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the tariffs would hurt both Canadian and American workers. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called for intensified talks, and British Columbia Premier David Eby declared: “There is not a chance in hell that US alcohol is going back on the shelves in British Columbia.”
Even the opposition Conservatives called on the prime minister to stand firm against Trump. “President Trump’s latest tariffs are another unacceptable and unjustified attack on Canadian workers and our businesses,” the party said. In slapping import taxes on symbolic goods ranging from wine to cement and ice hockey gear, Trump invoked Section 338 of the US Tariff Act of 1930, marking the law’s first known usage in nearly a century.
The new tariffs, set to take effect in 30 days, would apply to nearly $20bn of imports from Canada, about 5.2 percent of the $382bn worth of goods the US imported from Canada in 2025. US Vermont Senator Peter Welch called the tariffs “an extreme escalation of President Trump’s reckless and irresponsible trade war”. The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to touch a one-week low.
Source: www.aljazeera.com