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Mark Carney urges US to engage seriously as Canada retaliation nears
Canada is set to impose retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion of US goods starting 8 September after the US levied 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian products.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told US officials to “start being serious” as trade tensions between the United States and Canada escalate and retaliation approaches, according to the Guardian.
Carney said US officials have been insulting Canada and using “memes” rather than serious negotiation, adding that when the Americans stop doing those things, both sides can have discussions about trade. He also criticized an executive order from Donald Trump directing the US federal government to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, a move rejected by Canadians.
The Guardian reports that Canada is preparing to retaliate against Trump’s sweeping tariffs by imposing duties on $20 billion of American goods starting 8 September, after the US levied 50% tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian goods. The outlet says Trump’s most senior trade negotiator minimized the risk by describing the dispute as more “their emergency than ours.”
The article also details that US-Canada trade talks imploded about a week earlier, with different accounts of why negotiations collapsed. According to the Guardian, the US said Canada lacked a clear desire for a deal and pointed to Canadian requests related to lighter taxes on heavy-duty trucks, while Canadian officials blamed a White House disagreement over who was directing the talks.