Trump tariffs were a miscalculation, Mark Carney argued Saturday in his first remarks to Canadians after announcing late Friday that negotiations had broken down. He accused the United States of making last-minute changes that he called unfair and uneconomic.
U.S. negotiators countered that Canada introduced new demands and reversed earlier understandings. On Saturday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News there were no plans to restart negotiations. He said Washington had been prepared to scale back some tariffs on Canada as part of the now-abandoned package.
Carney said the terms presented by the United States were unacceptable and too restrictive, including provisions that would limit Canada’s ability to pursue trade agreements with other countries. He rejected the idea that Ottawa had made late requests, saying officials sought clarity on the U.S. offer and were repeatedly disappointed by the responses.
Political leaders across Canada reacted quickly. Ontario Premier Doug Ford backed Carney and said President Trump cannot be trusted. British Columbia Premier David Eby said the proposed limits on Canada’s capacity to sign other trade deals would reduce the country to the economic equivalent of the 51st state, a position he said was never acceptable to Canadians.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre also signaled support for Carney’s stance, calling the new U.S. levies unjustified. Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette warned that jobs are likely to be lost due to the additional tariffs, saying real people stand behind the affected sectors and pledging measures to help them.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose resource-rich province has cultivated ties with the Trump administration, urged both sides to return to the table.
Talks collapse amid dispute over Trump tariffs
The breakdown followed more than a year of intermittent negotiations that had intensified in recent weeks after a U.S. deadline to reach a deal or face further duties. The two countries were also engaged in a mandatory review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement with Mexico.
That pact, signed by Trump in his first term to replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, underpins about $1.6 trillion in annual trade among the three countries. Earlier this summer, Canada and Mexico formally requested that USMCA be renewed for another 16 years. The United States declined to extend it in its current form.
Asked how Friday’s collapse might affect the continental trade accord, Carney said it was certainly not good news. The breakdown adds to a series of tense exchanges between Ottawa and Washington over trade and foreign policy, including previous encounters when Trump says Kim responded after call request to Pyongyang.