- On Friday evening, Prime Minister Mark Carney pulled his country’s negotiators from trade talks with the U.S., just hours before the Trump administration’s new round of tariffs were set to go into effect.
- The new tariffs, set to go into effect on Wednesday, would impact goods including wine, hockey sticks, cement, plywood and more.
- Carney vowed to 'match those tariffs dollar for dollar' and announced 'additional measures' to support workers and business owners in the coming days.
- U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer slammed Canada’s decision, calling it a 'missed opportunity' and stating that 'new demands and walk backs of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days.'
- Carney said Canadian negotiators made 'significant progress' but it was 'not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians,' leading him to suspend trade negotiations and direct negotiators to return to Ottawa.
- Carney cited 'last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms' as 'unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.'
- Carney stated that 'America has changed' and that 'we will not return to our old relationship,' noting that the U.S. is 'altering all its trade relationships' by putting tariffs on closest allies.
- Trump has suggested the U.S. cede Canada as a '51st state' and as the 'future governor of Canada,' a context Carney acknowledged in his statement.
Canada has suspended trade negotiations with the U.S. as new tariffs of 50% on a range of goods, including wine and hockey sticks, take effect. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the decision on Friday, stating that the U.S. demands were unfair and uneconomic.
Carney emphasized that Canadian negotiators had made significant progress but that it was insufficient to meet Canada's objectives. He stated, “As a result, this evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa.” In response to the tariffs, Carney vowed to “match those tariffs dollar for dollar” and indicated that the government would introduce “additional measures” to support affected workers and businesses.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer criticized Canada’s decision, calling it a “missed opportunity” for partnership. He noted that the U.S. had offered Canada the best treatment of any major exporter, but new demands from Canada disrupted the negotiations. Carney acknowledged the changing dynamics of U.S. trade relationships, stating, “We have recognized from the beginning that America has changed, and that we will not return to our old relationship.”
“Carney cited 'last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms' as 'unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.' U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called the walkaway a 'missed opportunity,' saying Canada's 'new demands and walk backs' upended the balance.”
