Prime Minister Carney says Canada is ready to respond if Trump’s new tariffs go into effect
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that Canada is intensifying talks with the United States to reach a comprehensive trade deal but is ready to respond if President Donald Trump decides. 50% tariff threat It will come into force on Canadian goods.
The new tariffs announced by Trump on Monday are scheduled to go into effect on August 19.
“If these tariffs or other measures go into effect, there are a number of things we can do about it,” Ca said. rney said after the meeting with Canada’s prime ministers and provincial leaders in Charletown, Prince Edward Island.
Carney said “everything is on the table” if a deal cannot be reached before the tariffs come into effect.
“We don’t need to respond in advance,” he said. “I actually think it would be counterproductive to respond in advance at this stage.”
The new tariffs cover a wide range of products, including honey, liquor, cement, dairy products, some wood products, hockey sticks and other products. Energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals are excluded, but so are goods previously protected from import duties. United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA. The failure to renew the 2020 trade agreement by the United States triggered a new series of negotiations that could continue until 2036.
Carney says tariff threat could be US negotiating tactic
“We have seen a number of trade negotiations undertaken by the United States and normally there is a deadline,” he said. “Normally there is a huge tariff associated with that deadline.”
Carney believes US officials are eager to reach a trade deal.
Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz said the provinces and federal government remain united.
“We need a unified Team Canada approach,” he said. “Canada is best when the provinces and territories and the federal government work together.”
Carney says Canada will continue to build and is the economy of diversity.
“In any event, whatever the outcome of these negotiations, Canada will do whatever it takes to build our strength at home and support Canadian families, workers, our farmers and businesses,” he said.
The country also aims to establish commercial relations with countries other than the USA.
“We are diversifying our partnerships abroad,” he said.
An analysis by Desjardins, one of Canada’s largest financial institutions, says the tariffs would affect about $28 billion ($19.8 billion) worth of Canadian exports to the United States annually. That’s about 5% of the U.S. imports from Canada each year.
“Beyond direct business impacts, increased uncertainty could weaken business confidence and put the brakes on investment plans,” the analysis says.
Canada’s hardest hit provinces will be Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
Ahead of the meeting, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada needed to show strength.
“We need a strong plan,” he said. “Be aggressive. Put everything on the table.”
Ford was asked if his state would impose surcharges on electricity it sells to the US
“It depends on where we go with the United States,” he said. “Ontario has the most to lose right now. I will do anything to protect the people of Ontario.”
Later Thursday, the Trump administration included Canada among dozens of countries it has imposed taxes on, citing forced labor in their supply chains.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement that the move was “not unexpected.”
LeBlanc said Canada shares the U.S. goal of ensuring that goods produced with forced labor do not enter the supply chain.
“We will continue to engage constructively with the United States on this issue and other important issues in the coming weeks for the mutual benefit of our citizens,” LeBlanc said.
