VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) 鈥� Canadian Prime Minister said Tuesday that he and Donald Trump have agreed to intensify negotiations on a trade agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico a day after the U.S. president announced .
Carney鈥檚 comments came after Trump declared that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products. The new tariffs were scheduled to come into effect 30 days from Monday.
鈥淚 spoke this morning with the U.S. president and we agreed to deepen and speed up our negotiations over the next few weeks,鈥� Carney said in Ottawa. 鈥淐anada will do all that is necessary to support our jobs, our workers, our farmers and to make Canada stronger, more independent and more resilient.鈥�
The tariffs could unleash a , with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that previously had warm, close ties before Trump鈥檚 return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action Monday said Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump鈥檚 previous tariffs and must be held accountable.
The US did not renew the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement
The new 50% tariffs would exclude energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals, but would include goods previously protected from import taxes by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. That 2020 trade pact was not renewed by the U.S., triggering a new set of negotiations that could run until 2036.
Carney said he planned to meet virtually with the country鈥檚 premiers later in the day Tuesday. British Columbia Premier David Eby was blunt in his criticism of Trump and the proposed tariffs.
鈥淭his feels like an increasingly desperate and flailing approach to relationships with our country,鈥� he said in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where premiers and territorial leaders were meeting. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no question it will hurt families in British Columbia.”
Eby said Trump is wrong to think he can 鈥渂ully us into whatever he wishes.鈥�
鈥淚 feel sorry for Americans,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 be friends with Canada, then you almost certainly do not have friends anywhere in the world, and that is a very lonely place to be.鈥�
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said tariffs hurt both countries.
鈥淲hen tariffs are applied it increases the cost for families and to do business on both sides of the border,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese tariffs do nothing for making a more competitive North American economy.鈥�
Premier urges Canada to be more aggressive with Trump
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada should stand up to Trump.
鈥淲e always seem to be on our back heels,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to be on the offense. Not constantly on the defense with President Trump. We need to stand up to the bully, and we need to hit him tariff to tariff, all the way across the board.鈥�
Trump on Tuesday told reporters in the Oval Office that he loves the people of Canada but claimed the country needs the United States to survive. 鈥淐anada鈥檚 been very, very tough on us over the years, for many years, and no other president鈥檚 done anything about it,鈥� he said.
Trump added that the new tariffs are separate from his threats to hit Canada with additional levies due to that affected millions of people in the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. He repeated his claim that Canada is not managing its forests properly.
Canadian economists say the tariffs are more narrowly focused than first believed and would affect around 5% of Canada鈥檚 exports to the United States. The wide range of goods includes honey, liquor, cement and hockey sticks.
Robert Kavcic, a senior economist with the Bank of Montreal, said in a note to clients that the proposed tariffs would cover roughly $28 billion Canadian ($19.8 billion U.S.) worth of annual Canadian exports to the United States. That amounts to 0.8% of the Canadian economy, he said.
Kavcic said it appears that chemicals, plastics, electronics and industrial equipment are the biggest target in the new tariffs, followed by consumer goods and forestry products. Miscellaneous manufacturing machinery and agricultural or food products round out the list.
Tiff over bans on sales of US alcohol
One frustration for the U.S. is that eight Canadian provinces have banned the sale of U.S. alcohol at provincially operated liquor stores. Carney said it鈥檚 up to the provinces to decide if they wish to continue the ban.
Eby said the citizens of his province support the ban.
鈥淭here is not a chance in hell that U.S. alcohol is going back on the shelf in British Columbia,鈥� he said.
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