HAMILTON, Canada
Canada and the US will “intensify negotiations” in the coming weeks after Washington announced additional tariffs on certain Canadian goods, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday.
Speaking briefly with reporters in Ottawa, Carney said he spoke with US President Donald Trump earlier in the day following Washington’s announcement Monday of additional 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods.
“As many of you know, yesterday the United States announced the intention to…launch the latest, what is a series of trade actions against Canada in violation of our agreement, CUSMA, with the United States and Mexico,” Carney said.
“I spoke with President Trump earlier this morning. We agreed to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks, and the team and myself look forward to doing that,” he added.
Carney said the tariffs would come into effect in 29 days and Ottawa was considering its response.
“We will do whatever it takes and keep all options,” he said.
Speaking at the Oval Office during a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Trump argued that the tariffs are “only response to the way they’ve treated our farmers and our people.”
“Canada has been very, very tough on us over the years, for many years, and no other president has done anything about it,” he said.
While expressing affection to the people of Canada, he criticized the current and previous Canadian governments and said: “They need us to survive. Without us, there’s no way they can survive.”
He also criticized Ottawa for the wildfires and said: “They’re not managing their forests properly.”
According to the White House, the three proclamations impose a 50% tariff on a different set of Canadian imports covering products ranging from wine to hockey sticks to cement.
The tariffs will apply to all covered goods regardless of whether they originate under the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
