Prime Minister Mark Carney said he still believes a “mutually beneficial” trade deal with the United States is possible, but negotiations cannot resume while members of the Trump administration publicly insult Canada.
Mark Carney, speaking to journalists in Ottawa on Tuesday morning, addressed President Donald Trump‘s decision to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America and other remarks by U.S. officials that belittled Canada’s military and economic capabilities. “There has always been a realistic chance of concluding a mutually beneficial trade agreement with the United States that respects Canada’s sovereignty,” the prime minister said.
“When Americans stop posting memes, mocking us, and trying to appear tough, and instead take these negotiations seriously, we will be able to resume them,” he added.
Insults from U.S. officials
Responding to questions about comments from members of Donald Trump‘s cabinet regarding the Canadian Armed Forces, Mark Carney described the remarks as “beneath their office.”
On Monday evening, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted a message mocking two women from Canada’s youth cadet program. Earlier that day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ridiculed the notion that the United States is in a trade war with its northern neighbor. He asked whether Canada would “take its two submarines from the mall in Edmonton and send them after us.” The comment referred to an attraction that was removed from West Edmonton Mall in 2005.
Suspended negotiations and tariffs
Trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada broke down on August 21. The next day, Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian imports worth $20 billion. Canada announced reciprocal tariffs on a roughly equivalent amount of U.S. goods, set to take effect on September 8.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mark Carney said the talks collapsed because of an “accumulation of issues,” including proposed tariff arrangements that would affect key sectors such as automotive manufacturing.
U.S. officials had suggested that these sectors would “effectively become subsidiaries of American industry,” or that conditions would be created to gradually wind down Canadian production. “We are not going to accept these terms,” Mark Carney emphasized.
He also called Donald Trump‘s attempt to undermine Canada’s automotive industry “misguided.” “The U.S. automotive industry is stronger because of the Canadian and Mexican automotive sectors. At a time of major change in automotive manufacturing, it is important that we work together,” he said.
According to Carney, some elements of cooperation were developed during last month’s negotiations, which is why Canada remained at the negotiating table until the very end. “We never believed we had a deal, and in the end our positions diverged. Perhaps one day they will converge again,” the prime minister concluded.
According to Bloomberg
