US President Donald Trump has said Canada wants “the benefits of being a state, without being one” after trade talks between the two countries collapsed late on Friday.
The breakdown of negotiations triggered new 50% US tariffs on a range of Canadian goods. Trump also said American farmers had been charged “massive amounts of Tariffs” for years.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the fresh tariffs a “miscalculation” designed to “hurt and divide us”.
Carney confirmed he would match Trump’s tariffs “dollar-for-dollar” from 8 September, including levies on steel, dairy, appliances and electronics, saying the US and Canada were now in a trade war.
Both countries were optimistic of a deal earlier in the week, but talks fell apart after both sides accused the other of making last-minute changes.
“They asked too much and they offered too little,” Carney said on Saturday. “You’re at war when you get attacked. We got attacked.”
Trump revives ’51st state’ rhetoric
Trump’s latest comments echo his repeated references to making Canada the “51st state” of America since returning to office, sparking frustration among its leaders and residents.
The collapse of the trade talks upended a deeply integrated trading relationship with no clear path to resolution.
“We cannot accept what they’ve offered and we will not give what they’ve asked,” Carney said.
Trump told Fox News on Sunday that the Canadians were “foolish” to engage in a trade war with the US and think they will “actually win”.
The new 50% US tariffs will apply to a range of Canadian goods, in addition to existing US tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium, automobiles and lumber.
They are limited in scope, covering about $20bn (£15bn; C$28bn) of imports from Canada, or about 5% in total, including wine, dairy, cement, clothing and hockey equipment.
The prime minister said Canada was retaliating “reluctantly” to protect its interests, with details of counter-measures to be released in the coming days.
Leaders of other federal parties in Canada, including the Conservative opposition, voiced support for the prime minister, as have the leaders of some Canadian provinces.
Tariffs at centre of Trump’s trade policy
Tariffs – a tax on goods imported from other countries – have been a key component of Trump’s trade policy, with the US president arguing that they will boost American manufacturing and create jobs at home.
Critics, however, say tariffs have raised prices for American consumers, and have disrupted and damaged the global economy.
Carney’s speech on Saturday was his first address to Canadians after he announced late on Friday night that a deal would not be reached, accusing the US side of making “last-minute changes” that were “unfair” and “uneconomic”.
US negotiators, meanwhile, accused Canada of making “new demands and walk backs” on terms which had been previously agreed.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News on Saturday that there were no plans to resume talks.
He added that the US had been prepared to cut some of its tariffs on Canada as part of the ill-fated deal.
Carney, however, said the US presented “unacceptable” terms that were too restrictive, including curbing Canada’s ability to strike new trade deals with other countries.
He also rejected the assertion that Canada had made last-minute requests: “We clarified what was on offer and were continually disappointed by the answers.”
Canadian leaders back Carney
Doug Ford, the leader of Canada’s most populous province Ontario, backed Carney and said Trump “can’t be trusted”.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said the US demand for restrictions on Canada’s ability to have other trade deals “would reduce us to the economic equivalent of the 51st state”.
“It was never acceptable to Canadians,” Eby said.
The Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre also appeared to support Carney, calling the latest US levies “unjustified”.
Quebec’s premier, Christine Fréchette, warned jobs would likely be lost as a result of the new US tariffs.
“Behind these numbers are real people,” she said, vowing to introduce measures to support impacted sectors.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose oil-rich province has worked to make inroads with the Trump administration, urged both sides to resume talks.
Collapse raises questions over USMCA
The collapse comes after more than a year of on-again, off-again trade talks, which intensified in recent weeks after a US-imposed deadline to strike a deal or face further tariffs.
The two countries were also engaged in a mandatory review of an existing North American free trade agreement, known as USMCA, with Mexico.
The pact was signed by Trump during his first term to replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. It underpins $1.6tn (£1.2tn) in annual trilateral trade across Canada, the US and Mexico.
Earlier this summer, Canada and Mexico had formally requested for USMCA to be renewed for another 16 years. The US, however, declined to renew it in its current form.
Asked how Friday’s trade talk collapse would impact the North American free trade pact, Carney said it was “certainly not good news”.
Source: BBC
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